Hydrogen Gas Shows Promise for Protecting Brain After Stroke
- Authors
- Brad A. Sutherland, Joanne C. Harrison, Shiva M. Nair, Ivan A. Sammut
- Journal
- Current Drug Targets
- Year
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.2174/138945013804806433
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Health Condition
- Ischemic Stroke
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Scientists found that certain gases like hydrogen, xenon, and helium might be able to protect the brain during a stroke by reducing damage, and these gases are cheap and easy to give to patients, which could help way more stroke patients than current treatments do.
Key Finding
Multiple therapeutic gases including hydrogen have demonstrated neuroprotective potential in pre-clinical stroke models, but clinical translation remains incomplete and requires further investigation.
Summary
This is a review article examining how therapeutic gases—including hydrogen, xenon, helium, and argon—might protect brain tissue during stroke. The authors surveyed existing research showing that these gases have shown neuroprotective effects (meaning they reduce brain damage) in laboratory and animal studies. They argue that gases are attractive candidates for stroke treatment because they are abundant, inexpensive, and easy to deliver to patients.
Practical Takeaway
This is a review of existing research rather than a new study, so it does not provide direct evidence about hydrogen's effectiveness in humans. While the authors identify hydrogen as a promising candidate for stroke treatment based on animal studies, they emphasize that these therapies have not yet been successfully translated into clinical practice. Anyone interested in hydrogen therapy for stroke should await results from actual human clinical trials.
Abstract
Ischaemic stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. While recombinant tissue plasminogen activator can be administered to produce thrombolysis and restore blood flow to the ischaemic brain, therapeutic benefit is only achieved in a fraction of the subset of patients eligible for fibrinolytic intervention. Neuroprotective therapies attempting to restrict the extent of brain injury following cerebral ischaemia have not been successfully translated into the clinic despite overwhelming pre-clinical evidence of neuroprotection. Therefore, an adequate treatment for the majority of acute ischaemic stroke patients remains elusive. In the stroke literature, the use of therapeutic gases has received relatively little attention. Gases such as hyperbaric and normobaric oxygen, xenon, hydrogen, helium and argon all possess biological effects that have shown to be neuroprotective in pre-clinical models of ischaemic stroke. There are significant advantages to using gases including their relative abundance, low cost and feasibility for administration, all of which make them ideal candidates for a translational therapy for stroke. In addition, modulating cellular gaseous mediators including nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulphide may be an attractive option for ischaemic stroke therapy. Inhalation of these gaseous mediators can also produce neuroprotection, but this strategy remains to be confirmed as a viable therapy for ischaemic stroke. This review highlights the neuroprotective potential of therapeutic gas therapy and modulation of gaseous mediators for ischaemic stroke. The therapeutic advantages of gaseous therapy offer new promising directions in breaking the translational barrier for ischaemic stroke.