Hydrogen Therapy Protects Brain Function in Sepsis by Healing Gut Bacteria
- Authors
- Qingqing Han, Yuanyuan Bai, Chunjing Zhou, Beibei Dong, Yingning Li, Ning Luo, Hongguang Chen, Yongbao Yu
- Journal
- CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics
- Year
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1111/cns.14043
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Breathing hydrogen gas or drinking hydrogen-rich water helps improve brain function and reduces inflammation in mice with a brain condition linked to severe infection by positively affecting gut bacteria and body metabolism.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen treatment significantly improved brain function and reduced inflammation in mice with sepsis-associated encephalopathy, partly by restoring a healthy balance of gut bacteria.
Summary
Researchers gave mice with sepsis-associated encephalopathy (a brain condition that occurs in severe infections) either hydrogen gas to breathe or hydrogen-rich water to drink. They found that both forms of molecular hydrogen reduced inflammation in the brain and gut, restored healthy bacteria in the intestines, and improved the mice's neurological function. The study suggests that hydrogen may work by increasing beneficial gut bacteria while reducing harmful ones.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage mouse study suggesting hydrogen may help protect the brain during severe infections by supporting gut health and reducing inflammation. However, this research cannot yet be applied to humans—much more testing would be needed to determine if these effects occur in people with sepsis. The study does not provide evidence that hydrogen water would help anyone currently experiencing an infection.
Abstract
Introduction: In our experiments, male wild-type mice were randomly divided into four groups: the sham, SAE, SAE + 2% hydrogen gas inhalation (H2 ), and SAE + hydrogen-rich water (HW) groups. The feces of the mice were collected for 16 S rDNA analysis 24 h after the models were established, and the serum and brain tissue of the mice were collected for nontargeted metabolomics analysis. Aim: Destruction of the intestinal microbiota is a risk factor for sepsis and subsequent organ dysfunction, and up to 70% of severely ill patients with sepsis exhibit varying degrees of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE). The pathogenesis of SAE remains unclear. We aimed to explore the changes in gut microbiota in SAE and the regulatory mechanism of molecular hydrogen. Results: Molecular hydrogen treatment significantly improved the functional outcome of SAE and downregulated inflammatory reactions in both the brain and the gut. In addition, molecular hydrogen treatment improved gut microbiota dysbiosis and partially amended metabolic disorder after SAE. Conclusions: Molecular hydrogen treatment promotes functional outcomes after SAE in mice, which may be attributable to increasing beneficial bacteria, repressing harmful bacteria, and metabolic disorder, and reducing inflammation. Keywords: gut microbiota; hydrogen gas (H2); hydrogen-rich water (HW); molecular hydrogen treatment; sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE).