Consumption of hydrogen water prevents atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E knockout mice
Atherosclerosis is commonly called "hardening of the arteries."
Scientists have genetically modified mice, causing them to develop
atherosclerosis so that it can be studied. These are called
"apoliprotein E knockout mice". They found that giving these mice free
access to hydrogen-rich water while they are 2 to 6 months old
significantly reduced atherosclerosis. They concluded that,
"consumption of H2-dissolved water has the potential to prevent
atherosclerosis."
Download this article from Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communication (Ohsawa et al 2008)
Oral intake of hydrogen-rich water inhibits intimal hyperplasia in arterialized vein grafts in rats
An "arterialized vein graft" is a section of blood vessel (vein) that a
surgeon attaches (grafts) to an artery during coronary artery bypass
surgery (sometimes called "heart bypass" or CABG.)
"Intimal hyperplasia" is thickening of the lining of the grafted blood
vessel that can occur after surgery. It is a serious concern for
patients after bypass surgery since there is no truly effective
treatment for it.
In this study, scientists performed by surgery on rats, then gave them
either regular water or hydrogen enriched water to drink for the next 6
weeks. The grafts in rats drinking regular water developed intimal
hyperplasia as expected. But, intimal hyperplasia was significantly
suppressed in the rats that drank hydrogen rich water. The scientists
also reported that no adverse side-effects were seen during the
follow-up period as a result of drinking hydrogen rich water. Download this article from Cardiovascular Research (Sun et al 2012)
Hydrogen-supplemented drinking water protects cardiac allografts from inflammation-associated deterioration For patients who receive heart
transplants (or "cardiac allografts") inflammation related to oxidative
stress is one factor that can cause transplant rejection. For this
reason, scientists performed heart transplant surgery on rats, then fed
them either regular water or hydrogen rich water. They found that
drinking hydrogen rich water prolonged the lives of rats after heart
transplant. Specifically, drinking hydrogen rich water reduced
oxidative injury, inflammation, and intimal hyperplasia (thickening of
the lining of grafted blood
vessels that can occur after surgery.) Download this article from Transplant International (Noda et al 2012)
The Potential Cardioprotective Effects of Hydrogen in Irradiated Mice Most ionizing radiation-induced damage is caused by hydroxyl radicals,
and the selective reduction of hydroxyl by hydrogen in vitro has been
demonstrated previously. Irradiation of the heart can cause chronic
cardiac disease. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that
hydrogen-rich water (pure water saturated with molecular hydrogen),
which is easy to use, induces cardioprotection against ionizing
irradiation injury in mice. In this paper, we demonstrate that hydrogen
can protect myocardium degeneration from radiation-induced injury,
decrease myocardium malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine
(8-OHdG) levels, and increase myocardium endogenous antioxidants in
vivo. We suggest that hydrogen has a cardioprotective effect against
radiation induced injury.
Download this article from Journal of Radiation Research (Qian et al 2010)
