Hydrogen Solution Prevents Blindness from Chemical Eye Burns
Hydrogen and<i>N</i>-Acetyl-<scp>l</scp>-Cysteine Rescue Oxidative Stress-Induced Angiogenesis in a Mouse CornealAlkali-Burn Model
Research hubs: Eyes & Vision System
- Evidence type
- Animal study (mouse)
- Authors
- Miyuki Kubota, Shigeto Shimmura, Shunsuke Kubota, Hideyuki Miyashita, Naoko Kato, Kousuke Noda, Yoko Ozawa, Tomohiko Usui, Susumu Ishida, Kazuo Umezawa, Toshihide Kurihara, Kazuo Tsubota
- Journal
- Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science
- Year
- 2011
- DOI
- 10.1167/iovs.10-6167
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Chemical Eye Burns
- Body System
- Ocular
This research was done in animals. Results in animals often don't carry over to people.
TL;DR
Antioxidants can significantly reduce unwanted blood vessel growth in the eye after a chemical burn by blocking stress-related processes.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-enriched water irrigation significantly reduced abnormal blood vessel growth in chemically burned mouse corneas by suppressing harmful molecules and a cellular pathway involved in the injury response.
Summary
Researchers used mice to study how a chemical burn to the eye causes abnormal blood vessel growth that can lead to blindness. They found that harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS) trigger this blood vessel growth through a specific cellular pathway. When they treated the burned corneas with hydrogen-enriched water, it reduced these harmful molecules and prevented excessive blood vessel growth, working similarly to other antioxidant treatments.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen water may help prevent vision loss from severe eye chemical burns, but it has not been tested in humans. The findings are promising for potential eye injury treatment, but much more research would be needed before any clinical application.
Abstract (excerpt)
To investigate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as the prime initiators of the angiogenic response after alkali injury of the cornea and observe the effects of antioxidants in preventing angiogenesis. The corneal epithelia of SOD-1-deficient mice or wild-type (WT) mice were removed after…