Hydrogen Gas Shows Promise for Parkinson's Disease Treatment
Inhalation of hydrogen gas elevates urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanine in Parkinson's disease
Research hubs: Parkinson's Disease · Brain & Nervous System
- Evidence type
- Randomized controlled trial · Human study
- Authors
- Masaaki Hirayama, Mikako Ito, Tomomi Minato, Asako Yoritaka, Tyler W. LeBaron, Kinji Ohno
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2019
- PMID
- 30713666
- Study Type
- Human
- Participants
- 20
- Delivery
- Gas
- Dose
- ~1.2-1.4% hydrogen-air mixture inhaled for 10 minutes twice a day for 4 weeks
- H₂ concentration
- 1.2-1.4% hydrogen-air mixture
- Duration
- 4 weeks
- Funding
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (No. 2617K07094); Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (No. H29-Nanchi-Ipan-030); Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (No. JP18gm1010002, JP18ek0109230, JP17ek010002, JP18bm0804005); Smoking Research Foundation; Hori Sciences and Arts Foundation
- Conflicts of interest
- None declared
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 50 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- Japan
TL;DR
Inhaling hydrogen gas did not improve symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) in a short trial, but it did increase markers of oxidative stress, which might suggest a potential for protective effects on cells.
Key Finding
Inhaling hydrogen gas for 4 weeks did not significantly improve Parkinson's disease symptoms, but it did increase urinary oxidative stress markers by 16%, suggesting activation of cellular stress-response pathways.
Summary
Researchers tested whether inhaling hydrogen gas could help 20 people with Parkinson's disease over 4 weeks. The treatment did not improve symptoms like smell, movement, or daily functioning. However, it did increase a marker of oxidative stress (8-OHdG) in urine by 16%—a modest increase similar to what happens after intense exercise. The researchers suggest this stress response might trigger the body's natural protective mechanisms, though they found no clinical benefits in this short study.
Practical Takeaway
This small, short-term human study found no clinical benefit from hydrogen gas inhalation for Parkinson's symptoms. While the researchers propose that hydrogen may work through cellular adaptation mechanisms, the lack of observed symptom improvement and the brief 4-week duration mean much longer studies would be needed to determine if hydrogen has any real therapeutic value for this condition.
Abstract (excerpt)
Hyposmia is one of the earliest and the most common symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). The benefits of hydrogen water on motor deficits have been reported in animal PD models and PD patients, but the effects of hydrogen gas on PD patients have not been studied. We evaluated the effect…