Hydrogen Water Protects Eye Nerve Cells After Injury in Rat Study
- Authors
- Yu-Xia You, J.J. Li, Y.J. Li, Ke Ma
- Journal
- Ophthalmology in China
- Year
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.13281/j.cnki.issn.1004-4469.2014.02.009
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Traumatic Optic Neuropathy
- Body System
- Visual System
TL;DR
Applying hydrogen-rich water directly to the eyes of rats helped protect their vision after an injury to the optic nerve.
Key Finding
Topical hydrogen water applied as eye drops improved survival of retinal ganglion cells to 58% compared to 43% in saline-treated controls following optic nerve injury in rats.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen water could protect nerve cells in the eye after an optic nerve injury in rats. They crushed the optic nerve in rats' eyes and then treated some rats with hydrogen water (applied as eye drops or injected), while others received only saline (salt water) as a control. After two weeks, they counted how many retinal ganglion cells (the nerve cells that transmit vision signals) survived. Rats treated with hydrogen water eye drops had significantly better cell survival (58%) compared to the saline control group (43%).
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen water may have protective effects on nerve cells damaged by eye injury. However, this was only tested in rats with a specific type of injury, so it's unclear whether these results would apply to human eye conditions or other types of vision problems. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before hydrogen water could be considered a treatment for eye injuries.
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the protective effect of saturated hydrogen water on the retinal ganglion cells (RGC) of the rat optic nerve crush model. Design: Experimental study. Participants: Eighteen healthy adult male SD rats. Methods: Eighteen SD rats were randomly divided into the A, B and C group. There were 6 rats in each group. All the right eyes were selected as the experimental eyes, the left eyes served as controls. And the optic nerve crush model was established by using a micro optic nerve forceps with the clipping pressure of 40 g to crush the exposed optic nerve for 60 s at 2 mm from the optic disc. The rats of group A were given saturated hydrogen water by intraperitoneal injection with a dose of 5 ml/kg/d; those of group B were given saturated hydrogen water by dropping three times a day; and those of group C were given saline by dropping three times a day for consecutive two weeks. At the 9th days after injury, 3% fluorogold injection to both superior colliculus for labeling RGC under anesthesia. At the 14th days after injury, the rats were sacrificed, and RGCs were photographed and counted with mask method. Main Outcome Measures: Survival percentages of RGCs. Results: The average survival percentage of RGCs in A, B and C group was 40.35% ± 13.04%, 58.34% ± 14.00%, and 43.07% ± 7.80%, respectively(F=3.965, P=0.041). A significant difference was found between group B and A(P=0.020), between group B and C (P=0.042). The difference between group A and C was no significant (P=0.698). Conclusion: Dropping saturated hydrogen water into eyes for 14 days may play a protective role for RGCs in rat optic nerve crush model.