Hydrogen Water Protects Lungs During Surgery in Animal Study
- Authors
- Qifei Wu, Jingyao Zhang, Yong Wan, Sidong Song, Yong Zhang, Guangjian Zhang, Chang Liu, Junke Fu
- Journal
- Journal of Surgical Research
- Year
- 2015
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jss.2015.06.017
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Surgical Lung Injury
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-enriched water helps prevent lung damage caused by one-lung ventilation during surgery in rats.
Key Finding
Rats that consumed hydrogen water before one-lung ventilation showed reduced lung injury, including less fluid accumulation in lung tissue and decreased markers of oxidative stress and inflammation compared to control rats.
Summary
This study tested whether drinking hydrogen water could protect rat lungs from injury caused by one-lung ventilation, a breathing technique used during chest surgery. Rats that drank hydrogen water before and during the procedure showed less lung swelling, lower markers of tissue damage and inflammation, and better-preserved lung tissue structure compared to rats that didn't receive hydrogen water.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen water may help protect lungs during surgical procedures that require one-lung ventilation. However, these results are from rats only and would need to be tested in humans before any clinical recommendations could be made. The study does not provide information about dosing, timing, or whether similar effects would occur in people.
Abstract
Background: With the development of thoracic surgeries, one-lung ventilation (OLV) has been routinely used to facilitate surgical exposure. However, OLV can cause lung injury during the surgical process and becomes an important factor affecting the outcomes. To date, effective treatments for the prevention of lung injury caused by OLV are lacking. Hydrogen has been demonstrated to have effective protection against tissue injuries caused by oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. This study investigated the efficacy of hydrogen water consumption on the prevention of lung injury induced by OLV in rats. Materials and methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 32, 240-260 g) were divided randomly into the following four groups: sham group, sham + H2 group, OLV group, OLV + H2 group. The rats drank hydrogen water or degassed hydrogen water for 4 wk before the operation and received OLV for 60 min and two-lung ventilation for 60 min. Lung tissues were assayed for wet-to-dry ratio, oxidative stress variables, proinflammatory cytokines, and hematoxylin-eosin staining. Results: Hydrogen water consumption reduced wet-to-dry weight ratio, malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase activity and decreased the concentration of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the lung tissues compared with sham group and sham + H2 group. Hydrogen water consumption further attenuated NF-κB activation and caused histopathologic alterations. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that hydrogen water consumption ameliorated OLV-induced lung injury, and it may exert its protective role by its anti-inflammation, antioxidation and reducing NF-κB activity in the lung tissues.