Hydrogen Water Shows Promise for Severe Post-Transplant Complications
Hydrogen in Patients With Corticosteroid-Refractory/Dependent Chronic Graft-Versus-Host-Disease: A Single-Arm, Multicenter, Open-Label, Phase 2 Trial
Research hubs: Immune System · Skin & Dermatology System
- Evidence type
- Uncontrolled trial (single-arm or pilot) · Human study
- Authors
- Liren Qian, Miao Liu, Jianliang Shen, Jian Cen, Defeng Zhao
- Journal
- Frontiers in Immunology
- Year
- 2020
- PMID
- 33324415
- Study Type
- Human
- Participants
- 24
- Delivery
- Water, Commercial (Beijing Huoliqingyuan)
- Dose
- 4 ml/kg hydrogen-rich water orally three times a day
- H₂ concentration
- 0.8 ppm H2
- Duration
- 49 months
- Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81800180)
- Conflicts of interest
- None declared
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 7 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- China
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 (excerpt)
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…