Articles

The evolution of molecular hydrogen: a noteworthy potential therapy with clinical significance

Studies on molecular hydrogen have evolved tremendously from its humble beginnings and have continued to change throughout the years. Hydrogen is extremely unique since it has the capability to act at the cell...

Authors: Brandon J Dixon, Jiping Tang and John H Zhang

Hydrogen sulfide as a vasculoprotective factor

Hydrogen sulfide is a novel mediator with the unique properties of a gasotransmitter and many and varied physiological effects. Included in these effects are a number of cardiovascular effects that are proving...

Authors: Eloise Streeter, Hooi H Ng and Joanne L Hart

Serum leptin levels decrease after permanent MCAo in the rat and remain unaffected by delayed hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), referring to the medical use of oxygen at a level higher than atmospheric pressure, exerts neuroprotective effects after ischemic stroke via various mechanisms. It has been de...

Authors: Jun Mu, Robert P Ostrowski, Paul R Krafft, Jiping Tang and John H Zhang

Quoth the Raven: carbon monoxide and nothing more

The articles contained in this review series exemplify the diverse applications and succinct biological relevance of this simple gas. Articles summarizing the important effects of carbon monoxide in preventing...

Authors: Leo E Otterbein

Molecular hydrogen attenuates fatty acid uptake and lipid accumulation through downregulating CD36 expression in HepG2 cells

There is accumulating evidence that obesity is closely associated with an impaired free fatty acid metabolism as well as with insulin resistance and inflammation. Excessive fatty acid uptake mediated by fatty ...

Authors: Akio Iio, Mikako Ito, Tomohiro Itoh, Riyako Terazawa, Yasunori Fujita, Yoshinori Nozawa, Ikuroh Ohsawa, Kinji Ohno and Masafumi Ito

The summer of hydrogen sulfide: highlights from two international conferences

A great deal of interest has been paid recently to the hydrogen sulfide, the newest member of the gasotransmitter family. With the growing interest in the biology of H₂S, the need for meetings and conferences ded...

Authors: John W Calvert

XENON in medical area: emphasis on neuroprotection in hypoxia and anesthesia

Xenon is a medical gas capable of establishing neuroprotection, inducing anesthesia as well as serving in modern laser technology and nuclear medicine as a contrast agent. In spite of its high cost, its lack o...

Authors: Ecem Esencan, Simge Yuksel, Yusuf Berk Tosun, Alexander Robinot, Ihsan Solaroglu and John H Zhang

Xenon preconditioning: molecular mechanisms and biological effects

Xenon is one of noble gases and has been recognized as an anesthetic for more than 50 years. Xenon possesses many of the characteristics of an ideal anesthetic, but it is not widely applied in clinical practic...

Authors: Wenwu Liu, Ying Liu, Han Chen, Kan Liu, Hengyi Tao and Xuejun Sun

Normobaric hyperoxia-based neuroprotective therapies in ischemic stroke

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability due to disturbance of blood supply to the brain. As brain is highly sensitive to hypoxia, insufficient oxygen supply is a critical event contributing to ischem...

Authors: Zhifeng Qi, Wenlan Liu, Yumin Luo, Xunming Ji and Ke Jian Liu

The immunomodulatory role of carbon monoxide during transplantation

The number of organ and tissue transplants has increased worldwide in recent decades. However, graft rejection, infections due to the use of immunosuppressive drugs and a shortage of graft donors remain major ...

Authors: Mariane Tami Amano and Niels Olsen Olsen Camara

Neuroprotective, neurotherapeutic, and neurometabolic effects of carbon monoxide

Studies in animal models show that the primary mechanism by which heme-oxygenases impart beneficial effects is due to the gaseous molecule carbon monoxide (CO). Produced in humans mainly by the catabolism of h...

Authors: Vicki L Mahan

Methods for evaluation of helium/oxygen delivery through non-rebreather facemasks

Inhalation of low-density helium/oxygen mixtures has been used both to lower the airway resistance and work of breathing of patients with obstructive lung disease and to transport pharmaceutical aerosols to ob...

Authors: Andrew R Martin, Ira M Katz, Yonatan Lipsitz, Karine Terzibachi, Georges Caillibotte and Joëlle Texereau

Effect of carbon monoxide on Mycobacterium tuberculosispathogenesis

The intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is exposed to multiple host antimicrobial pathways, including toxic gases such as superoxide, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide (CO). To survive, mycobac...

Authors: Vineetha M Zacharia and Michael U Shiloh

The value of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in postoperative care of subarachnoid hemorrhage

In this editorial, the issues related to the hyperbaric oxygen therapy and its utility in managing cerebral vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage is discussed.

Authors: Christoph J Griessenauer, Mohammadali M Shoja, Marios Loukas and R Shane Tubbs

Emerging concepts on the anti-inflammatory actions of carbon monoxide-releasing molecules (CO-RMs)

Carbon monoxide-releasing molecules (CO-RMs) are a class of organometallo compounds capable of delivering controlled quantities of CO gas to cells and tissues thus exerting a broad spectrum of pharmacological ...

Authors: Roberto Motterlini, Benjamin Haas and Roberta Foresti

Consumption of water containing a high concentration of molecular hydrogen reduces oxidative stress and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an open-label pilot study

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the destruction of bone and cartilage. Although its etiology is unknown, the hydroxyl radical has been suggested to be involved in t...

Authors: Toru Ishibashi, Bunpei Sato, Mariko Rikitake, Tomoki Seo, Ryosuke Kurokawa, Yuichi Hara, Yuji Naritomi, Hiroshi Hara and Tetsuhiko Nagao

Inhaled hydrogen sulfide protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice

Local pulmonary and systemic infections can lead to acute lung injury (ALI). The resulting lung damage can evoke lung failure and multiple organ dysfunction associated with increased mortality. Hydrogen sulfid...

Authors: Simone Faller, Kornelia K Zimmermann, Karl M Strosing, Helen Engelstaedter, Hartmut Buerkle, René Schmidt, Sashko G Spassov and Alexander Hoetzel

Is methane a new therapeutic gas?

Methane is an attractive fuel. Biologically, methanogens in the colon can use carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce methane as a by-product. It was previously considered that methane is not utilized by humans...

Authors: Wenwu Liu, Dong Wang, Hengyi Tao and XueJun Sun

Oxybiotest project: microorganisms under pressure. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and simple pressure interaction on selected bacteria

HyperBaric Oxygen (HBO) therapy involves exposure to pure oxygen in a pressurized room, and it is an already well-established treatment for various conditions, including those originated by serious infections....

Authors: Vincenzo Zanon, Lucia Rossi, Elena Castellani, Enrico Mario Camporesi, Giorgio Palù and Gerardo Bosco

Colonic insufflation with carbon monoxide gas inhibits the development of intestinal inflammation in rats

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is complex, and an effective therapeutic strategy has yet to be established. Recently, carbon monoxide (CO) has been reported to be capable of reducing infl...

Authors: Tomohisa Takagi, Yuji Naito, Kazuhiko Uchiyama, Toshimitsu Okuda, Takahiro Suzuki, Hisato Tsuboi, Katsura Mizushima, Osamu Handa, Nobuaki Yagi, Hiroshi Ichikawa and Toshikazu Yoshikawa

The role of Volatile Anesthetics in Cardioprotection: a systematic review

This review evaluates the mechanism of volatile anesthetics as cardioprotective agents in both clinical and laboratory research and furthermore assesses possible cardiac side effects upon usage. Cardiac as wel...

Authors: Nicole R Van Allen, Paul R Krafft, Arthur S Leitzke, Richard L Applegate II, Jiping Tang and John H Zhang

A basic study on molecular hydrogen (H₂) inhalation in acute cerebral ischemia patients for safety check with physiological parameters and measurement of blood H₂ level

In animal experiments, use of molecular hydrogen ( H₂) has been regarded as quite safe and effective, showing benefits in multiple pathological conditions such as ischemia-reperfusion injury of the brain, heart, ...

Authors: Hirohisa Ono, Yoji Nishijima, Naoto Adachi, Masaki Sakamoto, Yohei Kudo, Kumi Kaneko, Atsunori Nakao and Takashi Imaoka

Propofol and magnesium attenuate isoflurane-induced caspase-3 activation via inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pore

The inhalation anesthetic isoflurane has been shown to open the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) and induce caspase activation and apoptosis, which may lead to learning and memory impairment. ...

Authors: Yiying Zhang, Yuanlin Dong, Zhipeng Xu and Zhongcong Xie

Physical exercise and intermittent administration of lactulose may improve autism symptoms through hydrogen production

Autism is neuro-developmental disorder. Oxidative stress is enhanced in some children with autism. Hydrogen is a gas with anti-oxidative effects suggested for treating or prevention of some medical problems. I...

Authors: Ahmad Ghanizadeh

Hydrogen-rich water inhibits glucose and α,β -dicarbonyl compound-induced reactive oxygen species production in the SHR.Cg-Lepr ^cp /NDmcr rat kidney

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production induced by α,β-dicarbonyl compounds and advanced glycation end products causes renal dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Hydrogen-rich ...

Authors: Masanori Katakura, Michio Hashimoto, Yoko Tanabe and Osamu Shido

A hypothesis on chemical mechanism of the effect of hydrogen

Many studies have shown that hydrogen can play important roles on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other protective effects. Ohsawa et al have proved that hydrogen can electively and directly scavenge hy...

Authors: Penghui Shi, Wancang Sun and Pengzhong Shi

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment in autism spectrum disorders

Traditionally, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) is indicated in several clinical disorders include decompression sickness, healing of problem wounds and arterial gas embolism. However, some investigators hav...

Authors: Daniel A Rossignol, James J Bradstreet, Kyle Van Dyke, Cindy Schneider, Stuart H Freedenfeld, Nancy O’Hara, Stephanie Cave, Julie A Buckley, Elizabeth A Mumper and Richard E Frye

Drinking hydrogen water and intermittent hydrogen gas exposure, but not lactulose or continuous hydrogen gas exposure, prevent 6-hydorxydopamine-induced Parkinson’s disease in rats

Lactulose is a synthetic disaccharide that can be catalyzed only by intestinal bacteria in humans and rodents, and a large amount of hydrogen is produced by bacterial catalysis of lactulose. We previously repo...

Authors: Mikako Ito, Masaaki Hirayama, Kazuaki Yamai, Sae Goto, Masafumi Ito, Masatoshi Ichihara and Kinji Ohno

Hydrogen(H2) treatment for acute erythymatous skin diseases. A report of 4 patients with safety data and a non-controlled feasibility study with H2 concentration measurement on two volunteers

We have treated 4 patients of acute erythematous skin diseases with fever and/or pain by H₂ enriched intravenous fluid. We also added data from two volunteers for assessing the mode of H₂ delivery to the skin for...

Authors: Hirohisa Ono, Yoji Nishijima, Naoto Adachi, Masaki Sakamoto, Yohei Kudo, Jun Nakazawa, Kumi Kaneko and Atsunori Nakao

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for treatment of children with autism: a systematic review of randomized trials

There is a controversy about the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy for the treatment of autism. This study systematically reviews the current evidences for treating of autism with HBO therapy. Accord...

Authors: Ahmad Ghanizadeh

Pilot study: Effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on muscle fatigue caused by acute exercise in elite athletes

Muscle contraction during short intervals of intense exercise causes oxidative stress, which can play a role in the development of overtraining symptoms, including increased fatigue, resulting in muscle microi...

Authors: Kosuke Aoki, Atsunori Nakao, Takako Adachi, Yasushi Matsui and Shumpei Miyakawa

Potential application of hydrogen in traumatic and surgical brain injury, stroke and neonatal hypoxia-ischemia

This article summarized findings of current preclinical studies that implemented hydrogen administration, either in the gas or liquid form, as treatment application for neurological disorders including traumat...

Authors: Jan M Eckermann, Paul R Krafft, Lorelei Shoemaker, Robert E Lieberson, Steven D Chang and Austin Colohan

Are volatile anesthetics neuroprotective or neurotoxic?

Volatile anesthetics are one class of the most commonly used drugs. However, the mechanisms for these drugs to induce anesthesia are not fully understood and have been under intensive investigation. Two other ...

Authors: Zhiyi Zuo

Hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning attenuates hyperglycemia enhanced hemorrhagic transformation after transient MCAO in rats

Hemorrhagic transformation (HT) can be a devastating complication of ischemic stroke. Hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning (HBO-PC) has been shown to improve blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in stroke model...

Authors: Yoshiteru Soejima, Robert P Ostrowski, Anatol Manaenko, Mutsumi Fujii, Jiping Tang and John H Zhang

A hypothesis on biological protection from space radiation through the use of new therapeutic gases as medical counter measures

Radiation exposure to astronauts could be a significant obstacle for long duration manned space exploration because of current uncertainties regarding the extent of biological effects. Furthermore, concepts fo...

Authors: Michael P Schoenfeld, Rafat R Ansari, Atsunori Nakao and David Wink

Anesthesia and global warming: the real hazards of theoretic science

Recent speculative articles in the medical literature have indicted certain inhalational anesthetics as contributing to global warming. This unfounded speculation may have deleterious patient impact

Authors: George Mychaskiw II

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and analysis

Traditionally, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has been used to treat a limited repertoire of disease, including decompression sickness and healing of problem wounds. However, some investigators have used H...

Authors: Daniel A Rossignol

Evaluating effects of normobaric oxygen therapy in acute stroke with MRI-based predictive models

Voxel-based algorithms using acute multiparametric-MRI data have been shown to accurately predict tissue outcome after stroke. We explored the potential of MRI-based predictive algorithms to objectively assess...

Authors: Ona Wu, Thomas Benner, Luca Roccatagliata, Mingwang Zhu, Pamela W Schaefer, Alma Gregory Sorensen and Aneesh B Singhal

Exploring the potential of low doses carbon monoxide as therapy in pregnancy complications

Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been shown to play a pivotal role in pregnancy outcome and its ablation leads to abnormal placentation, intrauterine fetal growth restriction (IUGR) and subsequent intrauterine feta...

Authors: Tarek El-Mousleh, Pablo A Casalis, Ivonne Wollenberg, Maria L Zenclussen, Hans D Volk, Stefanie Langwisch, Federico Jensen and Ana C Zenclussen

Lactulose: an effective preventive and therapeutic option for ischemic stroke by production of hydrogen

Lactulose, a synthetic sugar not able to be digested and absorbed by human beings, is widely used to treat constipation and hepatic encephalopathy clinically. Through fermentation by the bacteria in the gastro...

Authors: Xiao Chen, Xiao Zhai, Zhimin Kang and Xuejun Sun

Interrelations between blood-brain barrier permeability and matrix metalloproteinases are differently affected by tissue plasminogen activator and hyperoxia in a rat model of embolic stroke

In ischemic stroke, blood-brain barrier (BBB) regulations, typically involving matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and inhibitors (TIMPs) as mediators, became interesting since tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-...

Authors: Dominik Michalski, Carsten Hobohm, Christopher Weise, Johann Pelz, Marita Heindl, Manja Kamprad, Johannes Kacza and Wolfgang Härtig

A convenient method for determining the concentration of hydrogen in water: use of methylene blue with colloidal platinum

A simple titration (oxidimetry) method using a methylene blue-platinum colloid reagent is effective in determining the concentration of hydrogen gas in an aqueous solution. The method performs as effectively a...

Authors: Tomoki Seo, Ryosuke Kurokawa and Bunpei Sato

Mechanisms of Action Involved in Ozone Therapy: Is healing induced via a mild oxidative stress?

The potential mechanisms of action of ozone therapy are reviewed in this paper. The therapeutic efficacy of ozone therapy may be partly due the controlled and moderate oxidative stress produced by the reaction...

Authors: Masaru Sagai and Velio Bocci

Property value estimation for inhaled therapeutic binary gas mixtures: He, Xe, N₂O, and N₂ with O₂

The property values of therapeutic gas mixtures are important in designing devices, defining delivery parameters, and in understanding the therapeutic effects. In the medical related literature the vast majori...

Authors: Ira Katz, Georges Caillibotte, Andrew R Martin and Philippe Arpentinier

Isoflurane does not cause neuroapoptosis but reduces astroglial processes in young adult mice

Isoflurane, a volatile anesthetic widely used clinically, has been implicated to be both neuroprotective and neurotoxic. The claim about isoflurane causing neural apoptosis remains controversial. In this study...

Authors: Renee M Dallasen, James D Bowman and Yan Xu

Effects of hydrogen-rich water on abnormalities in a SHR.Cg-Lepr ^cp /NDmcr rat - a metabolic syndrome rat model

Hydrogen (H₂), a potent free radical scavenger, selectively reduces the hydroxyl radical, which is the most cytotoxic of the reactive oxygen species (ROS). An increase in oxygen free radicals induces oxidative st...

Authors: Michio Hashimoto, Masanori Katakura, Toru Nabika, Yoko Tanabe, Shahdat Hossain, Satoru Tsuchikura and Osamu Shido

Book Review: Gas Biology Research in Clinical Practice, edited by Toshikazu Yoshikawa and Yuji Naito

Authors: Atsunori Nakao and Yoshiya Toyoda

Open-label trial and randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of hydrogen-enriched water for mitochondrial and inflammatory myopathies

Molecular hydrogen has prominent effects on more than 30 animal models especially of oxidative stress-mediated diseases and inflammatory diseases. In addition, hydrogen effects on humans have been reported in ...

Authors: Mikako Ito, Tohru Ibi, Ko Sahashi, Masashi Ichihara, Masafumi Ito and Kinji Ohno

Molecules, magic and forgetful fruit flies: the supernatural science of medical gas research

Medical gas research often involves the study of molecules under extraphysiologic conditions, that is, conditions that do not exist in nature. This "supernatural" nature of medical gas research sometimes produ...

Authors: George Mychaskiw II

Normobaric hyperoxia protects the blood brain barrier through inhibiting Nox2 containing NADPH oxidase in ischemic stroke

Normobaric hyperoxia (NBO) has been shown to be neuro- and vaso-protective during ischemic stroke. However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Activation of NADPH oxidase critically contr...

Authors: Wenlan Liu, Qingquan Chen, Jie Liu and Ke Jian Liu