Hydrogen Saline Protects Heart from Damage After Heart Attack in Rats
- Authors
- Guoming Zhang, Song Gao, Xiaoyan Li, Lulu Zhang, Hong Tan, Lin Xu, Yaoyu Chen, Yongjian Geng, Yanliang Lin, Benjamin Aertker, Yuanyuan Sun
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2015
- DOI
- 10.1038/srep09858
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Myocardial Infarction
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
A combination of lactic acid and hydrogen-rich saline may protect the heart after a blockage in a similar way to mechanical techniques.
Key Finding
In rats, a combination of lactic acid and hydrogen-rich saline provided heart protection comparable to mechanical postconditioning, reducing heart tissue damage and cell death after simulated heart attack and blood flow restoration.
Summary
Researchers tested whether a combination of lactic acid and hydrogen-rich saline could protect rat hearts from damage that occurs when blood flow is restored after a heart attack. They compared this chemical treatment to a mechanical technique already known to help. The combination treatment reduced heart damage and cell death to a similar degree as the mechanical approach, and it lowered harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species.
Practical Takeaway
While this early animal study suggests hydrogen-rich saline combined with lactic acid may have cardioprotective potential, these results are from rats only and have not been tested in humans. Much more research would be needed before any conclusions could be drawn about benefits for human heart health.
Abstract
This study investigated whether pharmacological postconditioning with lactic acid and hydrogen rich saline can provide benefits similar to that of mechanical postconditioning. To our knowledge, this is the first therapeutic study to investigate the co-administration of lactic acid and hydrogen. SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: Sham, R/I, M-Post, Lac, Hyd, and Lac + Hyd. The left coronary artery was occluded for 45 min. Blood was withdrawn from the right atrium to measure pH. The rats were sacrificed at different time points to measure mitochondrial absorbance, infarct size, serum markers and apoptotic index. Rats in Lac + Hyd group had similar blood pH and ROS levels when compared to the M-Post group. Additionally, the infarct area was reduced to the same extent in Lac + Hyd and M-Post groups with a similar trends observed for serum markers of myocardial injury and apoptotic index. Although the level of P-ERK in Lac + Hyd group was lower, P-p38/JNK, TNFα, Caspase-8, mitochondrial absorbance and Cyt-c were all similar in Lac + Hyd and M-Post groups. The Lac and Hyd groups were able to partially mimic this protective role. These data suggested that pharmacological postconditioning with lactic acid and hydrogen rich saline nearly replicates the benefits of mechanical postconditioning.