Hydrogen Gas Protects Skin from Radiation Damage in Rats
- Authors
- S. Watanabe, M. Fujita, M. Ishihara, S. Tachibana, Y. Yamamoto, T. Kaji, T. Kawauchi, Y. Kanatani
- Journal
- Journal of Radiation Research
- Year
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.1093/jrr/rru067
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Radiation-Induced Dermatitis
- Body System
- Integumentary System
TL;DR
Breathing in a hydrogen-containing gas before being exposed to radiation can lessen skin damage and speed up wound healing in rats.
Key Finding
In rats, inhaling hydrogen-containing gas before X-ray radiation significantly reduced the severity of radiation-induced skin damage and accelerated wound healing compared to controls.
Summary
Researchers exposed rats to high-dose X-ray radiation to their skin, then tested whether breathing a gas mixture containing 1.3% hydrogen could reduce radiation damage. Rats that breathed the hydrogen-containing gas before radiation exposure developed less severe skin inflammation and their wounds healed faster than rats that did not receive the gas. The protective effect was stronger when hydrogen was given before radiation rather than after.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen gas inhalation may help protect skin from radiation damage, but it was conducted only in rats and did not test human subjects. Much more research, including human trials, would be needed before any conclusions could be drawn about whether this approach might benefit cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
Abstract
The effect of inhalation of hydrogen-containing gas (1.3% hydrogen + 20.8% oxygen + 77.9% nitrogen) (HCG) on radiation-induced dermatitis and on the healing of healing-impaired skin wounds in rats was examined using a rat model of radiation-induced skin injury. An X-ray dose of 20 Gy was irradiated onto the lower part of the back through two holes in a lead shield. Irradiation was performed before or after inhalation of HCG for 2 h. Inhalation of HCG significantly reduced the severity of radiodermatitis and accelerated healing-impaired wound repair. Staining with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) showed that the proportion of apoptotic keratinocytes and the level of staining in the X-irradiated skin of rats that pre-inhaled HCG were significantly lower than that of rats which did not pre-inhale HCG. Cutaneous full-thickness wounds were then created in the X-irradiated area to examine the time-course of wound healing. X-irradiation significantly increased the time required for wound healing, but the inhalation of HCG prior to the irradiation significantly decreased the delay in wound healing compared with the control and post-inhalation of HCG groups. Therefore, radiation-induced skin injury can potentially be alleviated by the pre-inhalation of HCG.