Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and flammable gas. Hydrogen is considered a physiologically inert gas and is often used in deep-sea diving medicine. In mammals, endogenous hydrogen is produced as a result of the fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates by intestinal bacteria and it is absorbed into the systemic circulation. Recent evidence indicates that hydrogen is a potent anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic …
Molecular hydrogen as an emerging therapeutic medical gas for neurodegenerative diseases
Effects of molecular hydrogen on various diseases have been documented for 63 disease models and human diseases in the past four and a half years. Most studies have been performed on rodents including two models of Parkinson’s disease and three models of Alzheimer’s disease. Prominent effects are observed especially in oxidative stress-mediated diseases including neonatal cerebral hypoxia; Parkinson’s disease; ischemia/reperfusion …
The evolution of molecular hydrogen: a noteworthy potential therapy with clinical significance
Studies on molecular hydrogen have evolved tremendously from its humble beginnings and have continued to change throughout the years. Hydrogen is extremely unique since it has the capability to act at the cellular level. Hydrogen is qualified to cross the blood brain barrier, to enter the mitochondria, and even has the ability to translocate to the nucleus under certain conditions. …
Hydrogen: from a biologically inert gas to a unique antioxidant
Hydrogen gas (H2), a colorless, tasteless, odorless, non-irritating and highly flammable diatomic gas, has been used in medical applications to prevent decomposition sickness in deep divers. For a long time, H2 was thought to be a “biologically inert gas” which could not react with biomolecules under normal pressure. In 2007, Ohsawa et al. first reported that inhalation of H2 markedly …
A review of hydrogen as a new medical therapy
In the past few years many initial and subsequent clinical studies have demonstrated that hydrogen can act as an important physiological regulatory factor to cells and organs on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and other protective effects. So far several delivery methods applied in these studies have proved to be available and convenient, including inhalation, drinking hydrogen-dissolved water and injection with …
Molecular hydrogen for the improvement of mitochondrial diseases
Mitochondria are the major source of oxidative stress. Acute oxidative stress causes serious damage to tissues, and persistent oxidative stress is one of the causes of many common diseases, cancer and the aging process; however, there has been little success in developing an effective antioxidant with no side effect. We have reported that molecular hydrogen has potential as an effective …
Therapeutic approach to neurodegenerative diseases by medical gases
Oxidative stress in the central nervous system is strongly associated with neuronal cell death in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In order to overcome the oxidative damage, there are some protective signaling pathways related to transcriptional upregulation of antioxidant enzymes, such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and superoxide …
Hydrogen therapy may be a novel and effective treatment for COPD
The protective effect of hydrogen (H2) on ROS-induced diseases has been proved by many researches, which demonstrated that through eliminating •OH and •ONOO–, H2 could effectively attenuate lipid and DNA peroxidation, improve cellular antioxidant capacity, and then protect cells against oxidant damage. Most of free radicals in human body are ROS, including O2•–,•OH, H2O2, NO•,•ONOO–, and so on. Under normal …
Optimal use of medical gases with antioxidant properties
Regulation of cellular redox balances is important for the homeostasis of human health. Thus, many important human diseases, such as inflammation, diabetes, glaucoma, cancers, ischemia and neurodegenerative diseases, have been investigated in the field of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress. To overcome the harmful effect of oxidative stress and ROS, one can directly eliminate them by medical gases …
Potential of molecular hydrogen for preventive and therapeutic applications
Persistent oxidative stress is one of the major causes of most lifestyle-related diseases, cancer and the aging process. Acute oxidative stress directly causes serious damage to tissues. Despite the clinical importance of oxidative damage, antioxidants have been of limited therapeutic success. We have proposed that molecular hydrogen (H(2)) has potential as a “novel” antioxidant in preventive and therapeutic applications [Ohsawa …