Hydrogen Therapy May Help Prevent Autism in Pregnancy Study
- Authors
- Noriyoshi Usui, Kazumasa Matsumoto-Miyai, Yoshihisa Koyama, Yuki Kobayashi, Yukiko Nakamura, Hikaru Kobayashi, Shoichi Shimada
- Journal
- Frontiers in Psychiatry
- Year
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.872302
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
A silicon-based substance that produces hydrogen in the body has been shown to help prevent brain inflammation in pregnant mice, which could reduce the risk of their offspring developing autism or schizophrenia.
Key Finding
A silicon-based hydrogen-producing agent improved social communication deficits in mouse offspring exposed to maternal immune activation and reduced inflammation-related gene expression in the brain.
Summary
Researchers studied mice whose mothers experienced immune activation (a type of immune response) during pregnancy, which can affect fetal brain development. They treated these pregnant mice with a silicon-based agent that produces hydrogen gas in the body. The offspring of treated mothers showed better social communication abilities and had lower levels of inflammation-related genes in their brains compared to untreated controls.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting that hydrogen may help counteract some effects of prenatal immune activation on brain development. However, this research was conducted only in mice, and it is unclear whether these results would apply to humans or translate into actual health benefits. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before any therapeutic claims could be made.
Abstract
Maternal immune activation (MIA) is triggered by infection or autoimmune predisposition during pregnancy, and cytokines produced by MIA are transmitted through the placenta to the fetal brain, implicating at the onset risks and vulnerability for developmental and psychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. To address these kinds of problem in child health, we have developed a silicon (Si)-based hydrogen-producing antioxidant (Si-based agent) that continuously and effectively produces hydrogen in the body. Medical hydrogen is known to have antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects, therefore we applied our Si-based agent as a potential therapeutic agent to MIA. Using a MIA mouse model, we found that the Si-based agent improved the social communication of MIA offspring mice. We also found that the Si-based agent suppressed the expressions of inflammation-associated genes Ifna1 and Il-6 in the mouse brain. These results demonstrate that the Si-based agent is an effective prophylactic agent against MIA during pregnancy, suggesting that our Si-based agent may be a preventative or therapeutic agent for ASD and other disease risks in child health suppressing MIA damage.