Hydrogen Water Reduces Psoriasis Symptoms and Improves Cholesterol
- Authors
- Zhihui Qiu, Ailing Huang, Zhuohui Li, Shucun Qin, Jun Chen, Baoqiang Li, Boyan Liu, Lei He
- Journal
- European Journal of Pharmacology
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ejphar.2025.177363
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Psoriasis
- Body System
- Integumentary
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water could help improve skin inflammation and abnormal fat levels in the blood for mice with a psoriasis-like condition.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich water reduced skin inflammation, improved blood lipid levels, and shifted immune cells toward an anti-inflammatory state in mice with psoriasis-like lesions and abnormal cholesterol metabolism.
Summary
Researchers gave hydrogen-rich water to mice with a skin condition similar to psoriasis that also had abnormal cholesterol and fat levels. The treatment reduced the mice's cholesterol and triglyceride levels (types of blood fats), improved their skin lesions, and changed immune cells in the skin toward a less inflammatory state. Gene analysis showed that hydrogen-rich water affected pathways related to inflammation and fat metabolism.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen-rich water may help with psoriasis that occurs alongside lipid metabolism problems, but results from mouse studies do not automatically translate to humans. Human clinical trials would be needed to determine whether these effects occur in people with psoriasis.
Abstract
Psoriasis is a complex immune-mediated disease that has been closely associated with obesity and lipid metabolism disorders. This study investigated the effects of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) on imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation in ApoE-deficient mice. Psoriasis severity as well as the lipid levels and inflammatory markers were evaluated. The results revealed that HRW significantly reduced plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and alleviated skin lesions in mice. Transcriptomic data of the skin tissues indicated significant changes in the inflammatory and lipid metabolism pathways after HRW treatment and quantitative PCR validated the regulation of inflammatory cytokine expression. In addition, HRW promoted M2 macrophage polarization and reduced M1 macrophage polarization in the skin. These results suggest that the consumption of HRW may be a potential therapeutic strategy for psoriasis accompanied by abnormal lipid metabolism.