Hydrogen Gas Inhalation Helps Stroke Recovery in Clinical Trial
- Authors
- Hirohisa Ono, Yoji Nishijima, Shigeo Ohta, Masaki Sakamoto, Kazunori Kinone, Tohru Horikosi, Mituyuki Tamaki, Hirosi Takeshita, Tomoko Futatuki, Wataru Ohishi, Taichi Ishiguro, Saori Okamoto, Shou Ishii, Hiroko Takanami
- Journal
- Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases
- Year
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2017.06.012
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Acute Cerebral Infarction
- Body System
- Neurological
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas was found to be a safe and effective treatment for patients with recent, mild to moderate strokes.
Key Finding
Patients with acute stroke who inhaled 3% hydrogen gas twice daily for one week showed significant improvements in stroke severity scores, brain imaging markers of infarction, and functional recovery, with no serious adverse effects reported.
Summary
This study tested whether inhaling hydrogen gas could help patients who had recently suffered a stroke (a blockage of blood flow to the brain). Fifty patients with mild-to-moderate strokes were divided into two groups: one group inhaled 3% hydrogen gas for one hour twice daily for a week, while the other group received standard medical treatment. The hydrogen group showed no serious side effects and had better outcomes on tests measuring stroke severity, brain damage on MRI scans, and physical recovery compared to the control group.
Practical Takeaway
This small human study suggests hydrogen gas inhalation may be safe and potentially beneficial for acute stroke treatment, but the findings come from only 50 patients in a single trial. Larger, longer-term studies are needed to confirm these results and determine whether hydrogen gas could become a practical addition to standard stroke care.
Abstract
Background: Molecular hydrogen (H2) acts as a therapeutic antioxidant. Inhalation of H2 gas (1-4%) was effective for the improvement of cerebral infarction in multiple animal experiments. Thus, for actual applications, a randomized controlled clinical study is desired to evaluate the effects of inhalation of H2 gas. Here, we evaluate the H2 treatment on acute cerebral infarction. Methods: Through this randomized controlled clinical study, we assessed the safety and effectiveness of H2 treatment in patients with cerebral infarction in an acute stage with mild- to moderate-severity National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores (NIHSS = 2-6). We enrolled 50 patients (25 each in the H2 group and the control group) with a therapeutic time window of 6 to 24 hours. The H2 group inhaled 3% H2 gas (1 hour twice a day), and the control group received conventional intravenous medications for the initial 7 days. The evaluations included daily vital signs, NIHSS scores, physical therapy indices, weekly blood chemistry, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans over the 2-week study period. Results: The H2 group showed no significant adverse effects with improvements in oxygen saturation. The following significant effects were found: the relative signal intensity of MRI, which indicated the severity of the infarction site, NIHSS scores for clinically quantifying stroke severity, and physical therapy evaluation, as judged by the Barthel Index. Conclusions: H2 treatment was safe and effective in patients with acute cerebral infarction. These results suggested a potential for widespread and general application of H2 gas.