Hydrogen Gas Inhalation Shows No Benefit for Parkinson's Disease
- Authors
- Asako Yoritaka, Yasuko Kobayashi, Tetsuo Hayashi, Shinji Saiki, Nobutaka Hattori
- Journal
- Neurological Sciences
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10072-021-05489-4
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Neutral
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Parkinson's Disease
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Inhaling hydrogen gas did not improve symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients, although it was found to be safe.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas inhalation was safe and well-tolerated in Parkinson's disease patients, but did not produce statistically significant improvements in motor symptoms compared to placebo.
Summary
Researchers tested whether inhaling hydrogen gas could help people with Parkinson's disease, a condition where oxidative stress (cellular damage from unstable molecules) may play a role. Twenty Japanese patients inhaled either hydrogen gas or placebo air for 1 hour twice daily over 16 weeks. The study found no significant improvement in Parkinson's symptoms between the two groups, though hydrogen inhalation was safe with no side effects reported.
Practical Takeaway
While this small pilot study suggests hydrogen inhalation is safe for people with Parkinson's disease, it did not show the symptom improvements that animal studies had suggested. The study was limited by its small size (15 participants who completed it) and high dropout rate, so larger, better-designed trials would be needed before drawing firm conclusions about hydrogen's effectiveness for this condition.
Abstract (excerpt)
Abstract Background Oxidative stress is involved in the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent studies have confirmed that molecular hydrogen (H2) functions as a highly effective antioxidant in animal models of PD. A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group clinical…