According to a study published in the Science Daily, a study on animal models undertaken by the Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau Research Institute (IIB Sant Pau) and the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona discovered that drinking water enriched with hydrogen molecules (H2) relieved symptoms of neuropathic pain and associated mental disturbances.
Despite this advancement, there is still a pressing need for cutting-edge approaches Ot controlling neuropathic pain. Excessive oxidative stress production appears to be important in the etiology of neuropathic pain, according to growing research. Intravenous or intrathecal antioxidant injections are safe for short-term usage but not for long-term treatment.
The antioxidant molecule hydrogen (H2) in water can aid with neuropathic pain in a unique way. Hydrogen was used to test its effect on neuropathic pain in rats by partly cutting the sciatic nerve. For three weeks following ligation, the development of neuropathic pain symptoms such as mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia was monitored.
The von Frey test and the plantar test were used to quantify mechanical allodynia and heat hyperalgesia, respectively. In ligated mice given free access to hydrogen-rich water, allodynia and hyperalgesia were relieved. These symptoms were similarly reduced when hydrogen was used exclusively during the induction phase (from day 0 to 4 after ligation).
When hydrogen was supplied during the maintenance period (4-21 days after ligation), hyperalgesia was reduced but not allodynia.
Hydrogen treatment decreased the oxidative stress generated by ligation in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia, according to immunohistochemical staining for the oxidative stress markers 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine. Finally, oral hydrogen water intake may be beneficial in the therapeutic therapy of neuropathic pain.
Hydrogen molecules have an impact on almost all biological activities. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging activities, and it helps to regulate autophagy and apoptosis. The lungs, being the principal site of gas exchange in the body, are continually exposed to a wide range of hazardous irritants.
Both short-term and long-term exposure to these hazardous substances raises the risk of lung damage, which can lead to respiratory and lung disorders. Because of the high rates of morbidity and mortality, they cause, acute and chronic respiratory disorders are a major public health problem across the world.
The global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus is one such case (SARS-CoV-2). This virus was to blame for the coronavirus disease in 2019. (COVID-19). In an increasing number of studies, hydrogen has been shown to be protective against a wide range of lung ailments, including acute lung damage, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, lung cancer, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and pulmonary fibrosis.
We highlight hydrogen’s different activities and the mechanisms that underpin its protective benefits in a number of lung diseases, as well as its involvement in disease pathogenesis and clinical importance. While only about 20% of the Spanish population suffers from chronic pain, 7-10% suffer from neuropathic pain. Those suffering from this sickness, which is caused by nerve injury, are in excruciating pain.
Patients’ treatment options are restricted, and many of them have negative side effects. That’s why experts like Olga Pol and her colleagues at the Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute and the UAB Institute of Neurosciences are looking into innovative approaches to treat people with it.
They investigated the effects of hydrogen-enriched water on mice models of neuropathic pain as a treatment for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression. The study’s findings may be found under the category of antioxidants. Because of its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, and antidepressant properties, the results demonstrate that this technique is a promising option for treating neuropathic pain and related mental health disorders.
This treatment can significantly improve the quality of life of those who have suffered nerve damage since it eliminates not just the pain but also the associated worry and anguish. This is significant because it speaks well for the development of more effective, less invasive techniques of treating neuropathic pain worldwide.
In rats treated with CCI, intrathecal infusion of hydrogen-rich saline lowers neuropathic pain, according to recent study. These findings confirm our findings, indicating that hydrogen has therapeutic promise as an analgesic. This study offers support to the concept that hydrogen’s antioxidant action in the spinal cord contributes to the alleviation of neuropathic pain. To further hydrogen’s applicability, data from intraperitoneal, intravenous, and intrathecal injections of hydrogen would be useful.
Hydrogen is being examined as a prospective treatment for a range of ailments due to emerging data proving its role as a powerful antioxidant with few negative effects.
Hydrogen has been shown to be safe and beneficial in treating a variety of conditions, including reperfusion damage, atherosclerosis, carcinogenesis, neurodegenerative disorders, hearing loss, and neonatal anesthesia-induced neuroapoptosis. Hydrogen is already utilized in clinical settings to treat decompression sickness, which is a significant issue among scuba divers.
