Hydrogen Gas Helps Protect Heart Function in Newborns After Birth Asphyxia
- Authors
- Kosuke Sakamoto, Shinji Nakamura, Toui Tsuchiya, Tsutomu Mitsuie, Yasuhiro Nakao, Yinmon Htun, Takayuki Yokota, Kota Inoue, Eri Inoue, Takayuki Wakabayashi, Aya Morimoto, Kosuke Koyano, Yukihiko Konishi, Takashi Iwase, Taikou Horii, Takashi Kusaka
- Journal
- Nature Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-026-35115-2
- Study Type
- Pig
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Hydrogen inhalation helped preserve heart function in newborns after oxygen deprivation by supporting cardiac output and circulation.
Key Finding
Newborn piglets that inhaled hydrogen gas for 6 hours after asphyxia showed significantly higher right-side heart output at 5 hours post-injury compared to untreated piglets.
Summary
This study tested whether inhaling hydrogen gas could help protect the heart in newborn piglets that had experienced oxygen deprivation (asphyxia). Researchers compared piglets that received 6 hours of hydrogen gas inhalation after the oxygen deprivation to piglets that did not receive it. The piglets that inhaled hydrogen gas showed better function in the right side of their heart, particularly at 5 hours after the injury, suggesting hydrogen gas may help preserve heart function during recovery from severe oxygen loss.
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage research in newborn piglets only, not humans. While the results suggest hydrogen gas inhalation may help protect heart function after severe oxygen deprivation, much more research—including human studies—would be needed before any clinical applications could be considered. The findings are preliminary and cannot be applied to health decisions at this time.
Abstract
About 80% of neonates with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) have cardiovascular dysfunction and are vulnerable to late-onset injury due to disrupted cerebral blood flow and metabolism. We previously reported the neuroprotective effect of hydrogen (H2) gas. This study investigated the effects of H2 gas inhalation on cardiac function in piglets after hypoxia-ischaemia (HI). Seventeen piglets ≤ 24 h old were subjected to HI insult for approximately 40 min and, after 10 min of resuscitation, were divided into an HI group (n = 10) and an HI-H2 gas inhalation group (2.2%-2.7% H2 gas for 6 h; n = 7). We examined biventricular single stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO) within 6 h after HI insult using transthoracic echocardiography. The HI group (n = 10) showed a transient increase in SV and CO followed by a decline. In contrast, the HI-H2 group (n = 7) experienced a increase in right ventricular SV and CO, with a mild decrease in left ventricular parameters. Notably, right CO were significantly higher at 5 h after insult in the HI-H2 group (p = 0.023). Hydrogen gas inhalation may help preserve right ventricular performance after asphyxia.