How Hydrogen Therapy Protects Heart and Brain Health
- Authors
- Miroslav Barancik, Branislav Kura, Tyler W. LeBaron, Roberto Bolli, Jozef Buday, Jan Slezak
- Journal
- Antioxidants
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.3390/antiox9121281
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Slovakia
- Health Condition
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Scientists found that a gas called molecular hydrogen could help treat heart and brain diseases by fighting harmful molecules in your cells that cause damage and aging—kind of like how antioxidants in healthy food protect your body. This matters because these findings suggest hydrogen could become a new medicine to prevent or treat serious diseases that affect millions of people.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen appears to reduce oxidative stress and activate multiple protective cellular pathways (Nrf2, PI3K/Akt, and Wnt/β-catenin) in cardiovascular and nervous system cells, with mitochondria (the cell's energy centers) identified as a key target of its effects.
Summary
This review article examines how molecular hydrogen may help treat diseases affecting the heart and brain. The authors explain that hydrogen appears to work by reducing harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species (unstable atoms that damage cells) and by activating protective pathways inside cells. The review summarizes research showing hydrogen may influence several cellular processes, including how cells repair themselves, how damaged cells die off, and how tissues are rebuilt after injury.
Practical Takeaway
This is a review article summarizing existing research rather than a new study with human participants, so it cannot directly demonstrate whether hydrogen water benefits people. The mechanisms described are based on laboratory and animal studies. While the review suggests hydrogen has therapeutic potential, much more human research is needed before any health claims can be made about hydrogen water for heart or brain health.
Abstract
The increased production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress are important factors contributing to the development of diseases of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Molecular hydrogen is recognized as an emerging therapeutic, and its positive effects in the treatment of pathologies have been documented in both experimental and clinical studies. The therapeutic potential of hydrogen is attributed to several major molecular mechanisms. This review focuses on the effects of hydrogen on the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, and summarizes current knowledge about its actions, including the regulation of redox and intracellular signaling, alterations in gene expressions, and modulation of cellular responses (e.g., autophagy, apoptosis, and tissue remodeling). We summarize the functions of hydrogen as a regulator of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-mediated redox signaling and the association of hydrogen with mitochondria as an important target of its therapeutic action. The antioxidant functions of hydrogen are closely associated with protein kinase signaling pathways, and we discuss possible roles of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, which are mediated through glycogen synthase kinase 3β and its involvement in the regulation of cellular apoptosis. Additionally, current knowledge about the role of molecular hydrogen in the modulation of autophagy and matrix metalloproteinases-mediated tissue remodeling, which are other responses to cellular stress, is summarized in this review.