Development of a Preclinical Tool for Measuring Percutaneous Transfer of Dihydrogen, with a View to Optimizing Medical Devices Adapted to Focal Therapies in Dermatology

Acute oxidative stress induced by ischemia-reperfusion or inflammation causes serious damage to tissues, and persistent oxidative stress is accepted as one of the causes of many common diseases including cancer. We show here that hydrogen (H(2)) has potential as an antioxidant in preventive and therapeutic applications. We induced acute oxidative stress in cultured cells by three independent methods. H(2) selectively reduced the hydroxyl radical, the most cytotoxic of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and effectively protected cells; however, H(2) did not react with other ROS, which possess physiological roles. We used an acute rat model in which oxidative stress damage was induced in the brain by focal ischemia and reperfusion. The inhalation of H(2) gas markedly suppressed brain injury by buffering the effects of oxidative stress. Thus H(2) can be used as an effective antioxidant therapy; owing to its ability to rapidly diffuse across membranes, it can reach and react with cytotoxic ROS and thus protect against oxidative damage. Show more

Hairless albino mice with squamous cell carcinoma were exposed to a mixture of 2.5 percent oxygen and 97.5 percent hydrogen at a total pressure of 8 atmospheres for periods up to 2 weeks in order to see if a free radical decay catalyzer, such as hydrogen, would cause a regression of the skin tumors. Marked aggression of the tumors was found, leading to the possibility that hyperbaric hydrogen therapy might also prove to be of significance in the treatment of other types of cancer. Show more