Hydrogen Water Shows Promise for Preventing Parkinson's Disease
- Authors
- Mikako Ito, Masaaki Hirayama, Kazuaki Yamai, Sae Goto, Masafumi Ito, Masatoshi Ichihara, Kinji Ohno
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.1186/2045-9912-2-15
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Parkinson's Disease
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Intermittent breathing of hydrogen gas, rather than continuous exposure or lactulose treatment, was effective in preventing Parkinson's disease in rats.
Key Finding
In rats with chemically-induced Parkinson's disease, intermittent hydrogen gas exposure and hydrogen water prevented disease development, while continuous hydrogen gas and lactulose-induced hydrogen production showed only marginal protective effects.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen could protect rats from a chemical that causes Parkinson's disease-like symptoms. They compared three ways of getting hydrogen into the body: drinking hydrogen water, taking a supplement (lactulose) that causes bacteria to produce hydrogen in the gut, and breathing hydrogen gas either continuously or in short bursts. Hydrogen water and intermittent hydrogen gas exposure prevented the disease in most rats, while the other methods had only weak effects, suggesting that how hydrogen is delivered matters more than the total amount produced.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests that the timing and delivery method of hydrogen may be important for potential neuroprotective effects, rather than simply producing more hydrogen. However, this is early animal research only—human studies are needed before any conclusions can be drawn about hydrogen water's effects on Parkinson's disease in people.
Abstract
Lactulose is a synthetic disaccharide that can be catalyzed only by intestinal bacteria in humans and rodents, and a large amount of hydrogen is produced by bacterial catalysis of lactulose. We previously reported marked effects of ad libitum administration of hydrogen water on prevention of a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD). End-alveolar breath hydrogen concentrations were measured in 28 healthy subjects and 37 PD patients, as well as in 9 rats after taking hydrogen water or lactulose. Six-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced hemi-PD model was stereotactically generated in rats. We compared effects of hydrogen water and lactulose on prevention of PD. We also analyzed effects of continuous and intermittent administration of 2% hydrogen gas. Hydrogen water increased breath hydrogen concentrations from 8.6 ± 2.1 to 32.6 ± 3.3 ppm (mean and SEM, n = 8) in 10 min in healthy subjects. Lactulose increased breath hydrogen concentrations in 86% of healthy subjects and 59% of PD patients. Compared to monophasic hydrogen increases in 71% of healthy subjects, 32% and 41% of PD patients showed biphasic and no increases, respectively. Lactulose also increased breath hydrogen levels monophasically in 9 rats. Lactulose, however, marginally ameliorated 6-OHDA-induced PD in rats. Continuous administration of 2% hydrogen gas similarly had marginal effects. On the other hand, intermittent administration of 2% hydrogen gas prevented PD in 4 of 6 rats. Lack of dose responses of hydrogen and the presence of favorable effects with hydrogen water and intermittent hydrogen gas suggest that signal modulating activities of hydrogen are likely to be instrumental in exerting a protective effect against PD.