Hydrogen Gas Could Help Detect IBD Without Invasive Procedures
- Authors
- Yuta Fujiki, Takahisa Tanaka, Kyosuke Yakabe, Natsumi Seki, Masahiro Akiyama, Ken Uchida, Yun-Gi Kim
- Journal
- Gut Microbiome
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1017/gmb.2023.17
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Body System
- Digestive System
TL;DR
Researchers have found that measuring hydrogen gas levels in the body could be a new, non-invasive way to detect gut inflammation related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas levels in biological samples were inversely correlated with intestinal inflammation markers in mice, suggesting hydrogen gas could serve as a non-invasive biomarker for detecting gut inflammation.
Summary
Researchers used mice with artificially induced gut inflammation to test whether measuring hydrogen gas in biological samples could help detect inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) without invasive procedures like endoscopy. They found that hydrogen gas levels were lower in mice with more gut inflammation, and certain types of gut bacteria were associated with both hydrogen levels and inflammation markers. This suggests hydrogen gas measurement might become a non-invasive way to monitor IBD.
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage mouse research showing a potential link between hydrogen gas and gut inflammation markers. While the findings are interesting for IBD diagnosis development, this study does not demonstrate that consuming hydrogen water has any health benefit—it only identifies hydrogen gas as a potential diagnostic tool. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before any practical applications for consumers.
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease characterised by repeated relapses and remissions and a high recurrence rate even after symptom resolution. The primary method for IBD diagnosis is endoscopy; however, this method is expensive, invasive, and cumbersome to use serially. Therefore, more convenient and non-invasive methods for IBD diagnosis are needed. In this study, we aimed to identify biological gas markers for the development of gut inflammation. Using dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mouse models, five biological gases were analysed to identify predictive markers for the development of gut inflammation. Additionally, the correlation between the changes in gas composition, gut microbiota, and inflammatory markers was assessed. The hydrogen (H2) level was found to be negatively correlated with the level of lipocalin-2 (LCN2), a gut inflammation biomarker, and weight loss due to DSS-induced colitis. Furthermore, gut microbes belonging to the Rikenellaceae and Akkermansiaceae families were positively correlated with LCN2 levels and weight loss, whereas Tannerellaceae abundance was negatively correlated with LCN2 level and weight loss and positively correlated with H2 levels. This study provides new insights for IBD diagnosis; the H2 levels in biological gases are a potential biomarker for intestinal inflammation, and specific gut microbes are associated with H2 level changes.