Hydrogen Gas May Protect Kidneys During Blood Flow Restoration Surgery
- Authors
- Yoshitaka Kinoshita, Kohsuke Shirakawa, Motoaki Sano, Takashi Yokoo, Haruki Kume, Eiji Kobayashi
- Journal
- Translational Andrology and Urology
- Year
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.21037/tau-21-1164
- Study Type
- Pig
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Acute Kidney Injury
- Body System
- Urinary
TL;DR
Researchers created a new pig model to study kidney injury caused by blood flow loss and restoration, and found that inhaling hydrogen gas might help reduce the damage.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas inhalation appeared to suppress early kidney damage markers in a pig model of ischemia/reperfusion injury, though the effect was not statistically significant and did not substantially reduce scarring at 3 months.
Summary
Researchers developed a new pig model to study kidney damage caused by blocked blood flow (ischemia) followed by restored blood flow (reperfusion injury). They gave some pigs hydrogen gas to breathe and compared results to controls. The study found that hydrogen gas may have reduced early markers of kidney damage, but the effect was weak and didn't significantly prevent long-term kidney scarring.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study (only 4 pigs) showing hydrogen gas may have some protective effect on acute kidney injury. However, the effect was modest and didn't translate to meaningful improvements in long-term kidney damage, so much more research—including human studies—would be needed before drawing conclusions about hydrogen water's usefulness for kidney health.
Abstract (excerpt)
Background: Acute kidney injury and its central pathology, renal ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI), have been studied in many animal models. Although renal IRI has been induced in pig models in many ways, simultaneous bilateral ischemia or unilateral ischemia along with contralateral nephrectomy…