Hydrogen Water Injections Reduce Nerve Pain in Rats
- Authors
- Junmin Yu, Zixiao Yin, Hongmin Ma, Bing Zhang, Chao Meng
- Journal
- Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.3389/fnmol.2025.1666575
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Neuropathic Pain
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Local injection of hydrogen nanobubble water reduced nerve pain and inflammation by activating cellular antioxidant defense pathways.
Key Finding
Ultrasound-guided local injection of nanobubble hydrogen-dissolved water reduced pain sensitivity and nerve injury in rats with chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain, with greater effects at higher concentrations and multiple doses.
Summary
Researchers tested whether nanobubble hydrogen-dissolved water (water containing tiny hydrogen bubbles) could reduce nerve pain in rats with a specific type of nerve injury. When injected directly at the injury site using ultrasound guidance, the treatment reduced pain sensitivity and nerve damage, particularly at higher concentrations and with multiple doses. The protective effect appeared to work by activating the body's natural antioxidant defense systems.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests that hydrogen-dissolved water may have potential for treating neuropathic pain through antioxidant mechanisms, but it is a preliminary animal study only. Direct injection into nerve tissue is not a practical approach for consumers, and it remains unclear whether drinking or other forms of hydrogen water would produce similar effects in humans. Much more research is needed before any health claims can be made.
Abstract
Introduction: Neuropathic pain (NP) is a kind of common and intractable chronic pain. Hydrogen (H2)-rich water exhibited protective effects in NP by intrathecal injection, drinking, and intraperitoneal injection. The nanobubble H2-dissolved water (NHW) is a solution that contains H2 bubbles and H2 in lysis state. Therefore, this study aimed to observe the effects of ultrasound-guided local injection with NHW in the model of NP, and try to find its possible mechanism. Methods: The rat sciatic nerve was ligated to establish chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced NP model. The CCI rats received NHW at low or high concentrations 1 or 3 times (n = 6). During the experiment, the paw withdrawal thresholds (PWT) and paw withdrawal latency (PWL) were detected. At 14 days after CCI, the organizational structure of nerve, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress damage were measured. Additionally, the Nrf2/HO-1 and sulfiredoxin-1 were also detected by western blotting and RT-PCR. Results: Compared with low concentration, in the high concentration group, the PWT and PWL were attenuated on Day 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14 after CCI (p < 0.05). On Day 14, nerve injury, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress injury were relieved significantly in high concentration than at low concentration, and the effect was greater at multiple doses (3 times) at high concentrations (p < 0.05), as were the increase in the protein and mRNA levels of Nrf2/HO-1 and sulfiredoxin-1. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided early local injection of NHW attenuated sciatic nerve injury, alleviated mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia and inhibited inflammation and oxidative stress damage via the Nrf2/HO-1-sulfiredoxin1 pathway in a rat model of CCI.