Hydrogen Therapy Shows Promise for Kidney Disease Treatment
- Authors
- Johanna Viana, Cecilia Castro, Víctor Leiva
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.4103/mgr.MEDGASRES-D-25-00047
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Portugal
- Health Condition
- Acute Kidney Injury
- Body System
- Renal
TL;DR
Scientists looked at studies about using molecular hydrogen (a special type of hydrogen gas) to treat kidney diseases, and found it seems really promising at reducing inflammation and damage in kidneys—but we need real-world testing in patients before doctors can actually start using it to treat people.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen showed consistent protective effects against cell damage, scarring, inflammation, and oxidative stress (harmful molecules) in various kidney disease models, but nearly all evidence comes from preclinical research rather than human clinical trials.
Summary
This review examined 69 published studies on molecular hydrogen (H₂, a gas) as a potential treatment for kidney diseases. Researchers found that most studies came from Asia and showed that hydrogen appeared to protect kidney cells by reducing damage from harmful molecules, inflammation, and cell death. However, the review notes that most evidence comes from laboratory and animal studies, not human trials, and researchers call for larger, better-designed human studies before hydrogen therapy can be recommended for kidney disease patients.
Practical Takeaway
While early laboratory and animal research suggests hydrogen may help protect kidneys, this is a scoping review of existing studies rather than new research. The authors emphasize that human clinical trials are needed before hydrogen can be considered an established treatment for kidney disease. Anyone with kidney disease should consult their doctor before considering hydrogen-based therapies.
Abstract
Acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease impose substantial burdens on healthcare systems worldwide. Molecular hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a potential therapy due to its selective antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties. The present study reviews evidence on H₂-based renal interventions, examining therapeutic mechanisms, bibliometric trends, and existing research gaps based on data analytics. This scoping review integrates quantitative bibliometric analysis with qualitative thematic synthesis. This integration, uncommon in conventional scoping reviews, reveals important gaps. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines, 69 publications were identified through Scopus and Web of Science. These publications mostly originated from Asia, particularly China and Japan, with clear peaks of activity in 2019 and 2024, but international collaboration remains limited. H₂ consistently demonstrated protective effects against apoptosis, fibrosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress across acute kidney injury, nephrotoxicity, transplantation, and early chronic kidney disease models. Our findings suggest that hydrogen therapy holds promise for renoprotection in both acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. Nonetheless, more robust clinical trials and standardized research methodologies are imperative to facilitate its broader adoption into clinical nephrology practice.