Hydrogen May Prevent Diseases Before Symptoms Appear
- Authors
- Haru Yamamoto, Yusuke Ichikawa, Shin-Ichi Hirano, Bunpei Sato, Yoshiyasu Takefuji, Fumitake Satoh
- Journal
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.3390/ijms22137211
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Chronic Inflammatory Diseases
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Scientists found that a gas called molecular hydrogen might help prevent diseases before you even feel sick by stopping harmful inflammation in your body, which is pretty cool because doctors normally can't catch these hidden diseases until symptoms show up.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen may suppress chronic inflammation by eliminating hydroxyl radicals and blocking a specific inflammatory pathway (NLRP3 inflammasome activation), potentially offering a preventive approach for diseases in their early, symptom-free stages.
Summary
This review examines how molecular hydrogen (H2) might help prevent diseases in their early stages before symptoms appear. The authors explain that chronic inflammation—a slow-building inflammatory response in the body—plays a role in many health conditions. Molecular hydrogen may reduce this inflammation by neutralizing harmful molecules called hydroxyl radicals, which contribute to oxidative stress (cellular damage). The review suggests H2 could be useful as a preventive tool, though the authors note that modern medicine currently cannot detect or treat these pre-symptomatic stages.
Practical Takeaway
This is a review article summarizing theoretical mechanisms rather than reporting new experimental results, and no human trials are mentioned. While the proposed mechanism is scientifically plausible, the practical benefit of hydrogen water for preventing pre-symptomatic diseases remains unproven in humans. Anyone interested in this area should await clinical trial evidence before making health decisions based on this review.
Abstract
Mibyou, or pre-symptomatic diseases, refers to state of health in which a disease is slowly developing within the body yet the symptoms are not apparent. Common examples of mibyou in modern medicine include inflammatory diseases that are caused by chronic inflammation. It is known that chronic inflammation is triggered by the uncontrolled release of proinflammatory cytokines by neutrophils and macrophages in the innate immune system. In a recent study, it was shown that molecular hydrogen (H2) has the ability to treat chronic inflammation by eliminating hydroxyl radicals (·OH), a mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). In doing so, H2 suppresses oxidative stress, which is implicated in several mechanisms at the root of chronic inflammation, including the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes. This review explains these mechanisms by which H2 can suppress chronic inflammation and studies its applications as a protective agent against different inflammatory diseases in their pre-symptomatic state. While mibyou cannot be detected nor treated by modern medicine, H2 is able to suppress the pathogenesis of pre-symptomatic diseases, and thus exhibits prospects as a novel protective agent.