Hydrogen Therapy Improves Lung Disease in Patient Unresponsive to Standard Treatments
- Authors
- Wei-Hung Hsu, Jeng-Wei Lu, Yi-Jung Ho, Shan-Wen Lui, Ting-Yu Hsieh, Kuang-Yih Wang, Feng-Cheng Liu
- Journal
- SAGE Open Medical Case Reports
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1177/2050313X261454858
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Taiwan
- Health Condition
- Sjögren's Syndrome
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
In a single refractory Sjögren’s-associated interstitial lung disease case, oral hydrogen capsules were associated with clinical stabilization, improved gas exchange, lower anti-Ro titers, and no adverse events.
Key Finding
A patient with treatment-resistant Sjögren's syndrome-associated lung disease showed clinical improvement in lung function, decreased disease antibodies, and normalized immune cell populations after receiving molecular hydrogen therapy, though causality cannot be definitively established from a single case.
Summary
A 72-year-old woman with severe lung disease caused by Sjögren's syndrome (an autoimmune condition affecting moisture-producing glands) that had not responded to standard treatments was given molecular hydrogen capsules as an additional therapy. After treatment, her lung function improved, her immune system markers shifted toward normal patterns, and her disease stopped progressing. However, this is a single patient case, so it's unclear whether the hydrogen caused these improvements or if they resulted from her previous treatments or natural disease changes.
Practical Takeaway
This single-patient case report suggests hydrogen therapy may be safe and potentially helpful as an add-on treatment for severe autoimmune lung disease, but it provides very limited evidence. Because this is one case rather than a controlled study, and the patient had received multiple prior treatments, we cannot conclude that hydrogen caused the improvements. Much larger and more rigorous studies would be needed before drawing any conclusions about hydrogen's effectiveness for this or similar conditions.
Abstract
Sjögren's syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease is a severe systemic complication that often proves refractory to conventional immunosuppressive and biologic therapies. Molecular hydrogen has recently emerged as a novel therapeutic agent known for its selective antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. This report evaluates the therapeutic potential of hydrogen in a patient with progressive Sjögren's syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease. A 72-year-old female with refractory primary Sjögren's syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease presented with worsening dyspnea, anemia, and progressive pulmonary fibrosis despite prior treatment with corticosteroids, synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, and rituximab. The patient initiated oral molecular hydrogen capsule therapy as an adjunctive treatment. Follow-up assessments revealed marked clinical stabilization: pulmonary function tests demonstrated significant objective improvement in gas exchange capacity, anti-Ro antibody titers significantly decreased, and high-resolution computed tomography showed no further progression of fibrosis. Notably, flow cytometric analysis indicated changes associated with the normalization of immunophenotypic markers suggestive of improved immune homeostasis, evidenced by observed alterations in effector T-cell subsets and a shift in previously aberrant regulatory T-cell populations toward levels comparable to healthy controls. No adverse events were observed. Although the patient had received multiple immunosuppressive therapies, including a single dose of rituximab nearly 3 years prior, these outcomes require a cautious interpretation of causality. While the observed clinical and immunophenotypic changes may represent delayed effects of prior therapies or natural disease fluctuation, the extended timeframe makes a solely delayed effect unlikely, strengthening the potential association with hydrogen therapy. These findings suggest hydrogen therapy as a safe and potentially beneficial adjunctive strategy for refractory autoimmune fibrotic diseases, supporting further clinical validation.