Magnesium Implants Generate Hydrogen to Heal Heart Attacks in Rats
- Authors
- Bin Wang, Shuang Pan, Chaoqun Nie, Rentong Zou, Jiaren Liu, Xue Han, Li Dong, Jiawen Zhang, Xinrui Yang, Mengshu Yu, Fan Bowei, Xiaojian Hong, Wei Yang
- Journal
- Nature Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-024-60609-2
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Myocardial Infarction
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Implanting magnesium slices under the skin produces a steady supply of hydrogen that can better treat heart attacks in rats compared to inhaling hydrogen.
Key Finding
Subcutaneous magnesium implants produced hydrogen continuously and improved cardiac function in rats with heart attacks more effectively than hydrogen gas inhalation, achieving higher and longer-lasting hydrogen concentrations in heart tissue.
Summary
Researchers tested a new way to deliver hydrogen to the heart in rats that had suffered a heart attack. Instead of having rats breathe in hydrogen gas, they surgically implanted small magnesium pieces under the skin, which continuously produce hydrogen as they react with body fluids. This implant method delivered higher amounts of hydrogen to the heart for longer periods than breathing hydrogen gas, and it improved heart function better than the gas method.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study showing that a magnesium implant approach to hydrogen delivery may be more effective than inhaling hydrogen gas for heart attack treatment. However, this has only been tested in rats, and it would require significant further research—including safety studies and human trials—before any such implant could be considered for people. The surgical nature of implantation also presents practical considerations not present with gas inhalation.
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen is an emerging broad-spectrum antioxidant molecule that can be used to treat myocardial infarction (MI). However, with hydrogen inhalation, the concentration that can be reached within target organs is low and the duration of action is short, which makes it difficult to achieve high dose targeted delivery of hydrogen to the heart, seriously limiting the therapeutic potential of hydrogen for MI. As a result of reactions with the internal environment of the body, subcutaneous implantation of magnesium slices leads to continuous endogenous hydrogen production, leading to a higher hydrogen concentration and a longer duration of action in target organs. In this study, we propose magnesium implant-based hydrogen therapy for MI. After subcutaneous implantation of magnesium slices in the dorsum of rats, we measured hydrogen production and efficiency, and evaluated the safety of this approach. Compared with hydrogen inhalation, it significantly improved cardiac function in rats with MI. Magnesium implantation also cleared free radicals that were released as a result of mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as suppressing cardiomyocyte apoptosis.