Can hydrogen water help with traumatic brain injury?

This rat study suggests hydrogen water may help by reducing dangerous brain swelling after injury. The treatment improved neurological function and reduced tissue damage when given early after brain trauma.

How does hydrogen water reduce brain swelling?

Hydrogen water appears to work by lowering levels of aquaporin 1, a protein that regulates fluid movement in brain tissue. By reducing this protein, less fluid accumulates in the brain after injury.

What did this brain injury study find about hydrogen therapy?

Rats treated with hydrogen water showed significantly better neurological scores, less brain swelling, and reduced tissue damage compared to untreated animals. The benefits were most apparent when treatment started immediately after injury.

Is hydrogen water safe for brain injury patients?

While this study was conducted in rats, hydrogen therapy has shown good safety profiles in human studies for other conditions. However, clinical trials are needed to confirm safety and effectiveness for brain injury patients.

How was hydrogen water given in this brain injury study?

Researchers gave rats daily injections of hydrogen-rich water into the abdomen for 5 days after creating brain injuries. The dose was 5 mL per kilogram of body weight administered once daily.

Hydrogen Water Reduces Brain Swelling After Head Injury in Rats

Authors: Xianjun Chen, Difen Wang, Ying Liu, Jia Yuan, Hailing Zhang
Journal: Chinese Critical Care Medicine
Year: 2016
Study Type: Rat
Outcome: Positive
Peer Reviewed: Yes
Country: China
Health Condition: Traumatic Brain Injury
Body System: Nervous System

TL;DR

Drinking hydrogen-rich water may reduce brain swelling and damage after a traumatic brain injury by affecting water channels in the brain.

Key Finding

In rats with traumatic brain injury, hydrogen-rich water treatment significantly reduced aquaporin 1 (a protein involved in brain swelling) and decreased overall brain edema (fluid accumulation) compared to untreated injured animals.

Summary

This study tested whether hydrogen-rich water could help reduce brain swelling in rats with traumatic brain injury. Researchers gave some injured rats hydrogen-rich water injections while others received regular saline, then measured brain damage and a protein called aquaporin 1 (AQP1), which helps control fluid movement in the brain. Hydrogen-rich water treatment reduced both the amount of AQP1 and the severity of brain swelling compared to untreated injured rats, and also improved neurological function scores.

Practical Takeaway

This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen-rich water may help reduce brain swelling after traumatic injury by affecting a specific protein involved in fluid regulation. However, this was only tested in rats using direct injection into the abdomen—not the oral hydrogen water that consumers use—so it's unclear whether these results would apply to humans or to drinking hydrogen water.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of hydrogen-rich water on cerebral edema and aquaporin 1 (AQP1) expression in rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Ninety male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, TBI model group, hydrogen-rich water treatment group (H group),with 30 rats in each group. TBI model was reproduced by weight dropping method. The skulls of rats in sham operation group underwent only craniotomy without direct hit and with bone wax sealed suture.5 mL/kg of hydrogen-rich water injection was given intraperitoneally after model reproduction in H group, and equal amount of normal saline was given in sham and TBI groups, once a day for both groups for 5 days. Six rats from each group were sacrificed at 6,12,24,48 hours and 5 days after evaluating neurological severity scores (NSS).The cerebral cortex was harvested, and the pathological changes in morphology of brain tissue were observed with light microscope. The positive expression of AQP1 in cerebral cortex was observed with immunohistochemistry by light microscopy, the AQP1 mRNA expression in cerebral cortex was determined by real-time fluorescent quantization reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),and the AQP1 protein expression in cerebral cortex was determined by Western Blot. Results: ① All rats in sham operation group had a NSS of zero at each time point. NSS of TBI group was obviously raised with time prolongation, and peaked at 24 hours followed by a lower tendency, while the score in H group was significantly lower than that of TBI group, and the difference was the most obvious at 24 hours as compared with TBI group (9.83 ± 2.78 vs.13.50± 2.42,P ＜ 0.05).② It was shown by light microscope that in the TBI group there were pathological changes in cerebral cortex, including obvious irregular arrangement of nerve cells, cerebral edema, obvious bleeding, especially at 24 hours, then the cerebral edema became vanished gradually; and the positive expression of AQP1 in the pia mater at all the time points in the TBI group was significantly increased, and it was most obvious at 24 hours. Compared with TBI group, the pathological changes at time points of 12 hours to 5 days in H group was significantly lessened, and the positive expression of AQP1 in the cerebral pia mater was reduced obviously.③ Compared with sham operation group, the mRNA and protein expressions of AQP1 in cerebral cortex in TBI group were significantly elevated, peaked at 24 hours [AQP1 mRNA (2-△△Ct):7.50±0.26 vs.1,AQP1 protein (gray value):1.986±0.110 vs.0.336±0.034, both P ＜ 0.05], then they gradually declined. The mRNA and protein expressions of AQP1 in cerebral cortex were significantly decreased after hydrogen-rich water treatment [24-hour AQP1 mRNA (2-△△Ct):5.40±0.21 vs.7.50±0.26, 24-hour AQP1 protein (gray value): 1.246±0.137 vs.1.986±0.110, both P ＜ 0.05]. Conclusions: The up-regulation of AQP1 mRNA and protein in rats' cerebral cortex after TBI perhaps participates in edema formation which might be involved in the pathophysiology of cerebral edema in TBI. Early treatment with an intraperitoneally injection of hydrogen-rich water is capable of attenuating the extent of TBI-induced up-regulation of AQP1 mRNA and protein, alleviating cerebral edema, and achieving its protective effects.