Hydrogen Gas Shows Promise for Treating Eye Blood Vessel Blockages in Rats
- Authors
- Pan Long, Weiming Yan, Mengshan He, Qianli Zhang, Zhe Wang, Manhong Li, Junhui Xue, Tao Chen, Jing An, Zuo-Ming Zhang
- Journal
- BMC Ophthalmology
- Year
- 2019
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12886-019-1105-2
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion
- Body System
- Visual
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas helps rats recover faster from a type of eye blockage that can lead to blindness by reducing swelling and improving eye function.
Key Finding
Rats breathing hydrogen gas showed faster reopening of blocked retinal blood vessels (about 2.2 days versus 4.2 days), improved retinal function, and reduced retinal swelling compared to untreated rats.
Summary
This study tested whether breathing hydrogen gas could help rats recover from branch retinal vein occlusion, a condition where blood vessels in the eye become blocked. Rats that inhaled a hydrogen gas mixture for 8 hours daily for 30 days showed better eye function, faster reopening of blocked blood vessels, less swelling in the retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye), and lower levels of a growth factor called VEGF-α compared to rats that did not receive hydrogen gas.
Practical Takeaway
While this rat study suggests hydrogen gas inhalation may help protect the retina during blood vessel blockage by reducing oxidative stress, these results cannot yet be applied to humans. Clinical trials in people with retinal vein occlusion would be needed to determine if hydrogen therapy has real benefits for human eye health.
Abstract
Background: Oxidative stress (OS) is an essential factor in the pathogenesis of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Studies have demonstrated the role of hydrogen gas in the regulation of OS. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of hydrogen gas on the BRVO rat model. Methods: Twenty-four BRVO rats were randomly divided into two groups: the hydrogen gas (H) group (42% H2, 21% O2, 37% N2) and the model (M) group (21% O2, 79% N2). Rats in the H group inhaled hydrogen gas for 8 h every day up to 30 d post-occlusion. Twelve age-matched healthy rats served as the control (C) group. Retinal function and morphology were detected at 1, 7, 14 and 30 d post-occlusion. Furthermore, the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-α) was detected by immunofluorescent staining. Results: Full-field electroretinography (ffERG) revealed that the amplitude of the b-wave (dark-adaptation 3.0 response), the amplitude of the OPs2 wave and the light-adapted flicker response in the H group were all higher than those in the M group at 7 d post-occlusion (all p 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that inhalation of hydrogen gas could alleviate retinal oedema, shorten reopen time and improve retinal function, and the potential mechanism might be related to a decrease in VEGF-α expression.