Hydrogen Therapy Protects Brain Cells in Early Parkinson's Disease
- Authors
- Zhaoqiang Zhang, Xiao Sun, Kun Wang, Yang Yu, Li Zhang, Keping Zhang, Jinglongfei Gu, Xiaofan Yuan, Guohua Song
- Journal
- Brain Research Bulletin
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2021.04.003
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Parkinson's Disease
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Hydrogen-saturated saline treatment can alleviate early and medium stage Parkinson's disease symptoms in rats by protecting certain brain neurons and reducing harmful molecules through a process called autophagy.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-saturated saline protected specific brain neurons and reduced Parkinson's-like symptoms in rats during early and medium disease stages, but showed no benefit in advanced stages.
Summary
Researchers gave hydrogen-saturated saline (a salt solution containing dissolved hydrogen gas) to rats with Parkinson's disease at different disease stages to see if it could protect brain cells. The treatment reduced symptoms and preserved two types of neurons (brain cells) important for movement and heart function, but only in early and medium stages of the disease. The protection appeared to work by reducing harmful molecules called free radicals and triggering a cellular cleanup process called autophagy.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests hydrogen water may have neuroprotective potential in early Parkinson's disease, possibly through reducing oxidative stress and activating cellular repair mechanisms. However, this is preliminary animal research with unknown human relevance—no human trials have been conducted, and the treatment's timing appears critical, working only before advanced neurodegeneration occurs. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before drawing any conclusions about hydrogen water's usefulness for people with Parkinson's disease.
Abstract
Some cardiovascular symptoms in the early stage of Parkinson's disease (PD) were related to degeneration of the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) catecholaminergic neurons. To date, little is known about the effects of hydrogen water on early stage of PD. Here, protective actions of hydrogen-saturated saline (HS) on rotenone-induced PD rats, as well as its underlying mechanisms were investigated. HS was used to treat PD rats at three general stages; early, medium and late, which were represented by rotenone induced rats for 0, 7 and 14 days. HS treatment significantly alleviated the cardiovascular and motor symptoms in rotenone-induced PD rats, improved the survival number of RVLM catecholaminergic neurons and nigral dopamine neurons only in early and medium stages of PD rats. Decreased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alpha-synuclein (α-Syn), transformation of microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-I/II and degradation of sequestosome 1 (p62) were detected, as well as increased expression level of autophagy related protein 5 (ATG5) and B-cell lymphoma-2 interacting protein 1 (Beclin-1) in the RVLM and substantia nigra (SN) after HS treatment in early and medium stages of PD rats. In addition, phosphorylation levels of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt) and mammalian rapamycin target protein (mTOR) decreased after HS treatment in early and medium stages of PD rats. The results suggested that HS treatment exerted beneficial effects in early and medium stages before motor impairments emerged but not in the late stage of rotenone-induced PD rats. It exerted neuroprotection with RVLM catecholaminergic neurons and nigral dopamine neurons, mediated in part by decreasing levels of ROS and α-Syn through increasing autophagy machinery which were partly via inhibiting PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway.