Hydrogen Therapy Shows No Effect on Inherited Blindness in Mice
- Authors
- Weiming Yan, Qiurui He, Pan Long, Tao Chen, Lei Zhang, Wang, Haiyan Wang
- Journal
- Frontiers in Pharmacology
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.3389/fphar.2023.1294315
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Retinitis Pigmentosa
- Body System
- Visual System
TL;DR
Hydrogen treatment did not improve retinal degeneration in mice with a condition similar to human retinitis pigmentosa.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen delivered as either hydrogen gas or hydrogen-rich saline showed no protective effects against retinal degeneration in mice with hereditary retinitis pigmentosa.
Summary
Researchers tested whether molecular hydrogen (H2), a substance with antioxidant properties, could slow down retinal degeneration in mice with hereditary retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease that causes vision loss. They gave some mice hydrogen in two forms—hydrogen gas and hydrogen-rich saline—while others received no treatment. Using multiple eye tests, they found no meaningful differences between the treated and untreated mice, suggesting that hydrogen did not protect against the eye damage in this disease model.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study that does not support the use of hydrogen water or hydrogen gas for hereditary retinitis pigmentosa. However, this is a single mouse study, and results in animals do not always translate to humans. Anyone with retinitis pigmentosa should consult their eye care specialist about proven treatments rather than relying on hydrogen-based interventions.
Abstract
Objective Our research was performed in order to explore the effects of molecular hydrogen (H2), a novelly-established antioxidant, on the retinal degeneration in rd1 mice, an animal model of inherited retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Methods The rd1 mice were divided randomly into control and H2 intervention groups. Mice from other groups received H2 intervention in three modes, two modes of the hydrogen gas (HG) and one model of hydrogen-rich saline (HRS). At 14 days post born (P14) and P21, various indicators were detected in all mice, including eletroretinogram (ERG), fundus phography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and retinal immunotaining of microglia cells' marker, Iba1. Results The ERG amplitude in mice from the control and H2 intervention groups showed no statistical differences (p > 0.05). At P14 and P21, no significant difference in the distance from the retinal pigment epithelium to the outer plexiform layer on OCT from mice of the above two groups was found (p > 0.05). The thickness of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) in mice at P14 and P21 showed no statistical differences between the control group and the H2 intervention group (p > 0.05). In the aspect of the number of Iba1-positive cells, we did not found any significant differences between the two groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion Different forms of H2 intervention (hydrogen-rich saline and hydrogen gas) had no obvious effects on the course of retinal degeneration in rd1 mice. The specific mechanism of photoreceptor degeneration in the hereditary RP mouse model may be different, requiring different medical interventions.