Hydrogen Gas Plus Metformin Protects Hearts in Diabetes
- Authors
- Rentong Zou, Chaoqun Nie, Shuang Pan, Bin Wang, Xiaojian Hong, Shuiqing Xi, Juncai Bai, Mengshu Yu, Jiaren Liu, Wei Yang
- Journal
- Free Radical Biology and Medicine
- Year
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2022.03.010
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Diabetic Cardiomyopathy
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas can help improve heart problems caused by diabetes, and it works even better when combined with a common diabetes drug, metformin.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas inhalation improved cardiac function and reduced heart damage in diabetic mice, and combining it with metformin produced stronger protective effects than metformin alone.
Summary
This study tested whether hydrogen gas could help protect the heart in mice with diabetes-related heart damage (a condition called diabetic cardiomyopathy). Researchers found that hydrogen gas improved heart function and structure in diabetic mice, and that combining hydrogen with metformin (a common diabetes medication) worked better than metformin alone. The study suggests hydrogen may work by reducing harmful cell death processes and scar tissue formation in the heart.
Practical Takeaway
While this mouse study suggests hydrogen gas may have potential benefits for diabetes-related heart problems, it is early-stage research that has not yet been tested in humans. The findings are preliminary and cannot be applied to human treatment without further clinical trials. Anyone with diabetes or heart concerns should consult their doctor before considering any new therapies.
Abstract
Hydrogen is a novel medical gas with several properties, including anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-allergic, and energy metabolism stimulating properties. Hydrogen therapy has been proven effective in the treatment of myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a serious cardiovascular complication of long-term chronic diabetes that is linked to increased heart failure and arrhythmia morbidity. The effect of hydrogen on the pathogenesis of DCM is yet to be determined. Metformin is a well-known pharmacological agent for the treatment of diabetes; however, the application of large doses of the drug is limited by its side effects. Therefore, this highlights the importance of developing novel therapies against DCM. In this regard, we investigated the effect of hydrogen on DCM and the mechanisms that underlie it. Furthermore, we also assessed the efficacy of co-administration of metformin and hydrogen. In this study, we found that hydrogen improved cardiac dysfunction and abnormal morphological structure in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. As a mechanism, it was confirmed that hydrogen mediated its action by reducing pyroptosis via inhibition of the AMPK/mTOR/NLRP3 signaling pathway and ameliorating fibrosis via inhibition of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway. Furthermore, our findings suggested that co-administration of hydrogen and metformin shows potent protective effects, as evidenced by increased survival rates, reduced fasting blood glucose, and decreased cell injury when compared to a single application of metformin. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that hydrogen inhalation attenuates DCM by reducing pyroptosis and fibrosis and that hydrogen can be combined with metformin to exhibit a more potent cardioprotective effect in DCM.