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Protective effect of hydrogen (H(2)) gas on cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury has been demonstrated previously. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that hydrogen-rich saline (saline saturated with molecular hydrogen), which is easy to use, induces cardioprotection against ischemia (30 min) and reperfusion (24 h) injury in rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent 30-min occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery and 24-h reperfusion. Intraperitoneal injection of hydrogen-rich saline before reperfusion significantly decreased plasma and myocardium malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, decreased cardiac cell apoptosis, and myocardial 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in area at risk zones (AAR), suppressed the activity of caspase-3, and reduced infarct size. The heart function parameters including left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular diastolic pressure (LVDP), +(dP/dt)(max) and -(dP/dt)(max) were also significantly improved 24 h after reperfusion. It is concluded that hydrogen-rich saline is a novel, simple, safe, and effective method to attenuate myocardial I/R injury.

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─ 79 ─ 【Objective】Gastric cancer patients have high proportions of malnutrition, which may become much deteriorated after gastrectomy. As we know, malnourished subjects have high risk of morbidities and mortality. Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS) is a potential supplement, which may restore the nutritional status of gastric cases. In this study, we study the role of ONS in gastric cancer cases after gastrectomy. 【Methods】We designed one prospective randomized international study, enrolling the gastric cancer cases in National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) and The University of Tokyo Hospital. Tokyo University studyONS group was orally-administrated 400kcal per day liquid diet in addition to usual diet for 12 weeks postoperatively. The primary end-point was change of body weight. The second end-points included change of nutritional characteristic, body composition (fat and muscle), and QOL (EORTC QLOQ-C30)． 【Result】There were 113 patients in this study, including 40 total gastrectomy (TG) and 73 distal gastrectomy (DG). For TG, body weight loss at ONS group (n=23) was significantly less than at c o n t r o l g r o u p (n = 1 7). A m o n g t h e b o d y components for TG, muscle loss at ONS group showed borderlinely significant less at ONS group compared with control group. However, there were no significance differences in body weight loss between ONS (n=41) and control group (n=32) receiving DG. 【Conclusion】The nutritional status of TG group was significantly worse than DG group. ONS therapy is useful for TG group to decrease the loss of body weight. Postoperative use of ONS therapy in TG cases may be advised to improve postoperative nutritional status. Arterialized vein grafts often fail due to intimal hyperplasia (IH), which remains a serious concern for patients after arterial bypass surgery, due to a lack of pharmacological agents that prevent IH. Hydrogen gas potently protects organs and cells from many insults via its antiinflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antioxidant properties. We investigated the efficacy of the oral administration of hydrogen-rich water (HW), a feasible approach for hydrogen intake, for prevention of IH. The inferior vena cava was excised from donor rats, stored in cold Ringer solution for 2 hours, and placed as an interposition graft in the abdominal aorta of syngeneic Lewis rats. HW for drinking was generated by immersing a magnesium stick in tap water (Mg + 2H2O → Mg (OH) 2 + H2). Beginning on the day of graft implantation, recipients were given either regular tap water (RW), HW, or HW that had subsequently been degassed. mRNA levels were quantitated by real-time RT-PCR. Smooth muscle cell migration in culture was assessed using A7r5 cells. Six weeks after grafting, the grafts in the rats given RW or degassed HW had developed IH. However, IH was significantly suppressed in rats given HW. One week after grafting, upregulation of the mRNAs for ICAM and endothelin receptor? A in the vein grafts was attenuated in the rats receiving HW. In culture, hydrogen treatment for 24 hours red...

Hydrogen has been reported to selectively quench detrimental reactive oxygen species, particularly hydroxyl radical, and to prevent myocardial or hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in multiple models. The aim of this study is to investigate whether hydrogen protects against severe burn-induced acute lung injury in rats. Rats were divided into four groups: sham plus normal saline, burn injury plus normal saline, burn injury plus hydrogen-rich saline, and burn injury plus edaravone. Animals were given full-thickness burn wounds (30% TBSA) using boiling water, except the sham group that was treated with room temperature water. The rats in hydrogen group received 5 ml/kg of hydrogen-rich saline, sham and burn controls obtained the same amount of saline, and the edaravone group was treated with 9 mg/kg of edaravone in saline. Lactated Ringer's solution was given at 6 hours postburn. The lungs were harvested 12 hours postburn for laboratory investigations. Severe burns with delayed resuscitation rapidly caused lung edema and impaired oxygenation in rats. These dysfunctions were ameliorated by administration of hydrogen-rich saline or edaravone. When compared with the burn injury plus normal saline group, hydrogen-rich saline or edaravone group significantly attenuated the pulmonary oxidative products, such as malondialdehyde, carbonyl, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine. Furthermore, administration of hydrogen-rich saline or edaravone dramatically reduced the pulmonary levels of pulmonary inflammation mediators and myeloperoxidase. Intraperitoneal administration of hydrogen-rich saline improves pulmonary function by reducing oxidative stress and inflammatory response in severe burn-induced acute lung injury.

It has been shown that after ischemia-reperfusion, application of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) reduces cardiac injury. In this study we tested the hypothesis that HBO preconditioning reduces injury to the ischemic myocardium. One hundred and eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-280 g) were randomly divided into four groups: normoxia + sham surgery (CS), normoxia + permanent occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery (CMI), HBO preconditioning + sham surgery (HS), and HBO preconditioning + permanent LAD occlusion (HMI). Rats receiving HBO preconditioning were intermittently exposed to 100% O(2) at 2.5 atmosphere absolute (ATA) for 60 min, twice daily for 2 days followed by 12 hrs of recovery in room air prior to the myocardial ischemic insult induced by LAD ligation. Rats in the normoxia group were time-matched with the HBO group and maintained under normoxic conditions prior to LAD occlusion. At 3 and 7 days after LAD occlusion, heart function parameters were measured by inserting a catheter into the left ventricle, infarct size was calculated using the method of TTC staining, myocardial capillary density was determined by immunohistochemical staining with a monoclonal anti-CD(31)/PECAM-1 antibody, and VEGF protein level was determined by Western blot analysis. At 3 days after LAD ligation, the infarct size of the HMI group was significantly smaller than that of the CMI group (26 +/- 2.5% vs. 38 +/- 3%, P < 0.05). The heart function parameters including left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), +dP/dt(max) and -dP/dt(max) were significantly improved in the HMI group compared to the CMI group at 3 and 7 days after LAD occlusion. Capillary density and VEGF protein levels were significantly increased in the ischemic myocardium pre-exposed to HBO. We conclude that HBO preconditioning alleviates myocardial ischemia in rat model.