Hydrogen Water Shows Promise for Severe Post-Transplant Complications
- Authors
- Liren Qian, Miao Liu, Jianliang Shen, Jian Cen, Defeng Zhao
- Journal
- Frontiers in Immunology
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.3389/fimmu.2020.598359
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water appears to be a safe and effective treatment for patients suffering from chronic graft-versus-host-disease after stem cell transplantation.
Key Finding
In patients with steroid-resistant chronic graft-versus-host disease, 75% achieved objective improvement with hydrogen-rich water treatment, and responders had an 86.6% four-year survival rate compared to 0% in non-responders.
Summary
This study tested whether hydrogen-rich water could help patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (a serious condition where immune cells from a bone marrow transplant attack the patient's own body) who were not responding to steroid medications. Twenty-four patients drank hydrogen-rich water three times daily, and researchers tracked improvements in their skin, mouth, digestive system, liver, eyes, lungs, and joints every three months. Three-quarters of the patients showed improvement, no serious side effects occurred, and patients who responded to the treatment had much better survival rates over four years.
Practical Takeaway
This early-stage human trial suggests hydrogen-rich water may help a specific and serious post-transplant condition, but the study was small, uncontrolled (patients knew they were receiving treatment), and focused on a narrow patient population. These results would need confirmation in larger, controlled trials before drawing broader conclusions about hydrogen water's effectiveness.
Abstract
Chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD) is the leading cause of late non-relapse mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(HSCT). There is no standard therapy for patients refractory or dependent to corticosteroid treatment. We hypothesized that hydrogen may exert therapeutic effects on cGVHD patients with few side effects. A prospective open-label phase 2 study of hydrogen was conducted. Patients received hydrogen-rich water 4ml/kg orally three times a day. Responses were graded in the skin, mouth, Gastrointestinal(GI), liver, eyes, lungs and joints and fascia every 3 months. A total of 24 patients (median age 27) were enrolled. Of the 24 patients, 18 (75%; 95% CI, 55.1% to 88%) had an objective response. No significant toxicity was observed. The estimated 4-year overall survival rate was 74.7%(95% CI, 54.9%-94.5%). The survival time was significantly prolonged in the response group. The survival rate at 4 years in the response group is significantly higher than the nonresponse group (86.6% vs 0%; p= 0.000132). Hydrogen showed great efficacy on cGVHD patients and long-term administration of hydrogen was not associated with significant toxic effects. The trial was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.Gov, NCT02918188.