Hydrogen Water Shows Promise for Kidney Transplant Patients
- Authors
- James F. George, Anupam Agarwal
- Journal
- Kidney International
- Year
- 2010
- DOI
- 10.1038/ki.2009.432
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- United States
- Health Condition
- Chronic Allograft Nephropathy (CAN)
- Body System
- renal/urinary system
TL;DR
Scientists found that adding hydrogen gas to drinking water helped kidney transplants work better and last longer in rats by reducing harmful molecules that damage the transplanted organ. This discovery could eventually help people who receive kidney transplants avoid rejection and live healthier lives.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-enriched drinking water reduced the severity of chronic kidney transplant damage and improved graft survival in rats, potentially by reducing harmful reactive oxygen species.
Summary
Researchers tested whether adding hydrogen gas to drinking water could help prevent kidney damage in rats that received kidney transplants. They found that rats drinking hydrogen-enriched water had less severe kidney damage and their transplanted kidneys survived longer, possibly because hydrogen reduced harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species (unstable atoms that damage cells).
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage research in animals only, so it's too soon to draw conclusions about hydrogen water's effects in humans with kidney transplants. More research, including human studies, would be needed to determine if these findings apply to people.
Abstract
Cardinal and colleagues describe the use of molecular hydrogen, the most abundant molecule in the universe, as a treatment for chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) in a rat model of kidney transplantation. They demonstrate that the addition of hydrogen to the drinking water results in a decrease in the severity of CAN and increased graft survival, and they provide evidence that the mechanism of action could be due to a reduction in reactive oxygen species.