A Solution for Alzheimer's Disease... Yonsei University in South Korea Announces Clinical Research Results on Hydrogen-Oxygen Inhalation!

Alzheimer's disease is a medical challenge faced by all of humanity.Currently,there are over 50 million Alzheimer's patients worldwide,with more than 10 million new cases added each year.The costs of care and treatment for Alzheimer's patients have become a heavy burden for millions of families.

Clinically,scientists have begun to widely apply hydrogen-oxygen inhalation to aging-related diseases and cognitive impairment disorders.Because hydrogen molecules are natural antioxidants with lower reactivity towards most biomolecules,they possess the advantage of selective reaction and can react with hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite.[1]In recent years,led by Chinese research teams,global research on hydrogen-oxygen medicine has been flourishing.Studies have found that elderly individuals inhaling hydrogen-oxygen gas can show improvements in some age-related diseases,such as trends toward extended telomere length and increased DNA methylation.[2]Simultaneously,some scientific reports indicate that hydrogen-oxygen can improve emotional issues like depression and childhood autism.Other studies suggest that hydrogen-oxygen improves cognitive function in elderly women,indicating that hydrogen-oxygen is a beneficial intervention for patients with age-related cognitive impairment.[3]


The root cause of Alzheimer's disease lies in the brain

Considering the safety,anti-inflammatory,and antioxidant mechanisms of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation,a research team from Yonsei University,a prestigious institution in South Korea,designed a clinical trial to investigate the improvement of Alzheimer's disease in patients of different age groups through hydrogen-oxygen inhalation,with 51 participants enrolled.The results showed that the patients'cognitive conditions significantly improved after hydrogen-oxygen inhalation,and biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease exhibited positive changes.Therefore,the scientists at Yonsei University concluded:Inhaling hydrogen-oxygen gas is expected to be a potential effective method for improving Alzheimer's disease.[4]

Experimental results

In this experiment,participants of different ages inhaled a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas via nasal cannula for a duration of 4 weeks.

Since oxidative stress and aging are associated with the progression of Alzheimer's disease(AD)and represent a key mechanism in the study of aging and neurodegenerative diseases,the researchers estimated the overall levels of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and nitric oxide(NO)in serum to examine the impact of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation on oxidative stress across different age groups.Both ROS and NO levels showed a significant decrease,and hydrogen-oxygen inhalation for 4 weeks improved cognitive impairment across different ages.


The figure above shows that oxidative stress levels were significantly suppressed after hydrogen-oxygen inhalation.

BACE-1 is considered one of the biomarkers for dementia.Scientists compared BACE-1 levels before and after hydrogen-oxygen inhalation and found that a significant decrease in BACE-1 levels suggests the beneficial effect of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation on Alzheimer's disease.

BACE-1 levels were significantly reduced after hydrogen-oxygen inhalation.

Neurofibrillary amyloid plaques,abnormal protein deposits composed of Aβpeptides(Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42),and the accumulation of intracellular insoluble hyperphosphorylated tau protein(p-tau)are all hallmarks of Alzheimer's brain pathology.After members of different age groups inhaled hydrogen-oxygen,these markers showed a significant reduction,indicating that hydrogen-oxygen inhalation inhibits these substances,protects the brain,and improves cognitive impairment.

Each black dot in the above figure represents data from one participant.It can be observed that all four AD indicators showed an overall downward trend after inhaling hydrogen-oxygen.

Meanwhile,the researchers measured the levels of MCP-1,IL-6,and VEGF-A,and the results also demonstrated the improving effect of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation on these markers.This indicates that four weeks of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation improved the risk and severity of Alzheimer's disease.

Improvement of MCP-1,IL-6,and VEGF-A by Hydrogen-Oxygen Inhalation

Discussion

The researchers from Yonsei University concluded that the results of this experiment effectively support that inhaling hydrogen-oxygen improves cognitive impairment and related symptoms in dementia patients.Throughout the four-week period of daily hydrogen-oxygen inhalation,no adverse reactions or toxic side effects associated with the act of inhaling hydrogen-oxygen were observed,indicating that this is a method that can be promoted and used across different age groups for the prevention and improvement of Alzheimer's disease.

Aβplaques and neurofibrillary tangles are the result of inflammation and immune dysfunction.By stimulating microglia,the immune response initially reduces the plaque burden against neurodegeneration.To organize plaque formation,more inflammatory factors are released,phagocytes increase,and at this stage,the number of peripheral blood cells increases,including lymphocytes,neutrophils,monocytes,platelets,and lymphocyte subsets,which are involved in inflammation and immune responses.

This experiment demonstrates that:Inhalation of hydrogen-oxygen mixed gas improves multiple markers of Alzheimer's disease.The progression of age-related diseases is associated with the production of ROS[5].Neuronal cells are more susceptible to oxidative stress than other normal cells because these nerve cells have higher oxygen consumption,higher lipid content,and lack oxidative enzymes.A major potential risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is the brain's vulnerability to ROS—oxidative stress irreversibly damages neuronal activity.At the same time,due to its biochemical properties,NO is also involved in the development of neurological diseases.Both ROS and NO are"targets"of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation.

Studies have shown that after ischemic brain injury,the number of hippocampal neurons and the concentration of BDNF in the cerebral cortex increase;in the amyloidogenic pathway,BACE1(β-secretase)cleaves amyloid precursor protein to produce Aβ;tau neurofibrillary tangles in brain tissue are also associated with Alzheimer's disease formation;the above markers are all affected by hydrogen-oxygen inhalation,showing improvement,indicating a reduction in cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease.In addition,a clinical trial on hydrogen-oxygen medicine involving nearly 300 participants in China also demonstrated the improvement effect of inhaling a high-concentration hydrogen-oxygen mixture(66.6%hydrogen,33.3%oxygen)on Alzheimer's disease.

The above indicates that amid the escalating global aging crisis,hydrogen-oxygen inhalation,with no sequelae or side effects,holds the potential to serve as a key option for humanity to combat Alzheimer's disease and reduce family healthcare expenditures!

References:

[1]O·S.M.Molecular hydrogen:An inert gas turns clinically effective.Ann.Med.2015,47,301–304.

[2]Bhattacharyya,S.B.A.A.G.D.J.;Biswas,S.;Datta,A.Mode of Action of Endotoxin:Role of Free Radicals and Antioxidants.Curr.Med.Chem.2005,11,359–368.

[3]Jeong,E.-S.;Bajgai,J.;You,I.-S.;Rahman,H.;Fadriquela,A.;Sharma,S.;Kwon,H.-U.;Lee,S.-Y.;Kim,C.-S.;Lee,K.-J.Therapeutic Effects of Hydrogen Gas Inhalation on Trimethyltin-Induced Neurotoxicity and Cognitive Impairment in the C57BL/6 Mice Model.Int.J.Mol.Sci.2021,22,13313

[4]Kyu-Jae Lee et al,Effects of Hydrogen Gas Inhalation on Community-Dwelling Adults of Various Ages:A Single-Arm,Open-Label,Prospective Clinical Trial，antioxidants，2023；

[5]An,P.;Zhou,X.;Du,Y.;Zhao,J.;Song,A.;Liu,H.;Ma,F.;Huang,G.Association of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio with Mild Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Chinese Adults:A Case-control Study.Curr.Alzheimer Res.2020,16,1309–1315