Recent Advances in Studies of Molecular Hydrogen against Sepsis

Abstract

Sepsis is a syndrome comprised of a series of life-threatening organ dysfunctions caused by a maladjusted body response to infection with no effective treatment. Molecular hydrogen is a new type of antioxidant with strong free radical scavenging ability, which has been demonstrated to be effective for treating various diseases, such as infection, trauma, poisoning, organ ischemia-reperfusion, metabolic diseases, and tumors. Molecular hydrogen exerts multiple biological effects involving anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, anti-apoptosis, anti-shock, and autophagy regulation, which may attenuate the organ and barrier damage caused by sepsis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive, but are likely related to the signaling pathways involved. This review focuses on the research progress and potential mechanisms of molecular hydrogen against sepsis to provide a theoretical basis for clinical treatment.

Low-Flow Nasal Cannula Hydrogen Therapy

“…The health benefits include improving mood, reducing anxiety, and counteracting an overactive sympathetic nervous system [ 1 ]. In terms of disease prevention and treatment, H 2 has been used to treat many diseases, including lifestyle diseases [ 2 ]; immune diseases, such as atopic dermatitis [ 2 ], hay fever [ 3 ], and chronic rheumatoid arthritis [ 4 ]; respiratory diseases, such as asthma [ 5 ], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [ 6 ], and pneumonia caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [ 7 ]; neurological diseases, such as depression [ 8 ], dementia [ 9 ], stroke [ 10 ], post-cardiac arrest syndrome [ 11 , 12 ], subarachnoid hemorrhage [ 13 ], and traumatic injury from blast shock waves [ 14 ]; myocardial infarction [ 15 - 17 ]; chronic kidney disease [ 18 ]; sepsis [ 19 ] and hemorrhagic shock [ 20 , 21 ]; and cancer [ 22 ].…”

Hydrogen in Patients With Corticosteroid-Refractory/Dependent Chronic Graft-Versus-Host-Disease: A Single-Arm, Multicenter, Open-Label, Phase 2 Trial

“…Treating chronic GVHD with immunosuppressive agents can increase the risk of infection. However, in polymicrobial sepsis models, molecular hydrogen has been proved to have anti-infective effects but not increasing the risk of infection ( 20 – 22 ), which is different from immunosuppressive agents. In our study, only three patients experienced transient hiccups and no other side effects.…”

Combating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in COVID‐19 by Molecular Hydrogen Therapy: Mechanisms and Perspectives

“…Furthermore, hydrogen-rich water was found to attenuate lung injury by inhibiting lipid peroxidation [ 103 ]. Hydrogen-rich saline was also reported to reduce ROS production in alveolar epithelial cells, attenuate the alveolar epithelial barrier damage, improve alveolar gas exchange, and reduce cell damage caused by alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis and excessive autophagy [ 60 ] ( Table 2 ).…”

“…To address all of these contributing factors to cytokine storm in COVID-19, inhalation of molecular hydrogen may offer an effective solution to tackle both hypoxia and oxidative stress, thereby reducing downstream cytokine secretion. Many reports described possible mechanisms of molecular hydrogen actions against different diseases [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. The majority of these reports revealed three main effects of molecular hydrogen in pathophysiology: antioxidative stress, antiinflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects.…”