Hydrogen Gas Shows Promise for Treating Brain Injuries
The Role of Gaseous Molecules in Traumatic Brain Injury: An Updated Review
Research hubs: Brain & Nervous System
- Evidence type
- Review or commentary
- Authors
- Xiaoru Che, Yuanjian Fang, Xiaoli Si, Jianfeng Wang, Xiaoming Hu, Cesar Reis, Sheng Chen
- Journal
- Frontiers in Neuroscience
- Year
- 2018
- PMID
- 29937711
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 40 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- China
TL;DR
Scientists found that four special gases (nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and molecular hydrogen) can protect your brain and help it heal after a serious injury, which could lead to better treatments for people with traumatic brain injuries. These gases are promising because they can easily get into the brain and reduce damage, so researchers think they should study them more to create new medicines.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen and three other gaseous molecules show promise as potential neuroprotective (brain-protecting) treatments for traumatic brain injury due to their ability to penetrate brain tissue.
Summary
This is a review article that examines how four gaseous molecules—nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and molecular hydrogen—may help protect the brain after traumatic injury. Because these molecules can easily pass through the blood-brain barrier (the protective layer around the brain), they can reach brain tissue and potentially reduce damage. The authors argue that these gases deserve further study as possible treatments for traumatic brain injury, which causes serious health problems and has limited treatment options.
Practical Takeaway
This is a review of existing research rather than a new study, so it does not provide direct evidence about hydrogen water's effects on brain injury. While the review identifies molecular hydrogen as theoretically promising, the authors explicitly call for further clinical investigation—meaning human studies have not yet been conducted to test these molecules as treatments. Anyone interested in hydrogen and brain health should await results from actual clinical trials before drawing conclusions.
Abstract (excerpt)
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people in China each year. TBI has a high mortality and often times a serious prognosis. The causative mechanisms of TBI during development and recovery from an injury remain vague, leaving challenges for the medical community to provide treatment…