Hydrogen Gas Prevents Memory Loss from Sepsis in Rat Study
- Authors
- Aline A. Jesus, Patrícia Passaglia, Bruna M. Santos, Isabelle Rodrigues-Santos, Rafael A. Flores, Marcelo E. Batalhão, Angelita M. Stabile, Evelin C. Cárnio
- Journal
- Brain Research
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.146857
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Brazil
- Health Condition
- Sepsis
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas may help prevent memory problems caused by sepsis by reducing brain inflammation.
Key Finding
Chronic hydrogen gas inhalation prevented both short and long-term memory loss in rats with sepsis by reducing brain inflammation and activating protective antioxidant pathways.
Summary
This study tested whether breathing hydrogen gas could help prevent memory problems caused by sepsis (a serious blood infection). Researchers gave rats with sepsis either hydrogen gas or regular air and then tested their memory. They found that rats breathing hydrogen gas had better short and long-term memory compared to rats breathing regular air. The researchers also found that hydrogen gas reduced inflammation in the brain regions responsible for memory.
Practical Takeaway
While this rat study suggests hydrogen inhalation may help protect memory during sepsis, it is important to note this research has not yet been tested in humans. The findings are early-stage and would need to be confirmed in human clinical trials before any therapeutic recommendations could be made for sepsis patients.
Abstract
The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the first physiological systems to be affected in sepsis. During the exacerbated systemic inflammatory response at the early stage of sepsis, circulatory inflammatory mediators are able to reach the CNS leading to neuroinflammation and, consequently, long-term impairment in learning and memory formation is observed. The acute treatment with molecular hydrogen (H2) exerts important antioxidative, antiapoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects in sepsis, but little is known about the mechanism itself and the efficacy of chronic H2 inhalation in sepsis treatment. Thus, we tested two hypotheses. We first hypothesized that chronic H2 inhalation is also an effective therapy to treat memory impairment induced by sepsis. The second hypothesis is that H2 treatment decreases sepsis-induced neuroinflammation in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, important areas related to short and long-term memory processing. Our results indicate that (1) chronic exposure of hydrogen gas is a simple, safe and promising therapeutic strategy to prevent memory loss in patients with sepsis and (2) acute H2 inhalation decreases neuroinflammation in memory-related areas and increases total nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factorthat regulates a vast group of antioxidant and inflammatory agents expression in these areas of septic animals.