Reduction of oxidative stress and CRP levels in hemodialysis patients by hydrogen gas inhalation

Dialysis patients experience high chronic oxidative stress levels. Oxidative stress enhances the inflammatory responses of dialysis patients, and it is also associated with the onset and deterioration of various complications. In this study, we examined the effects of hydrogen gas inhalation on oxidative stress in hemodialysis patients. We evaluated these effects of hydrogen gas inhalation by measuring oxidative stress, antioxidant capacity, and C‒reactive protein (CRP) levels in 6 hemodialysis patients. We evaluated oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity using the Diacron‒reactive oxygen metabolites (d‒ROMs) test and biological antioxidant potential (BAP) test, respectively. The hemodialysis patients started inhaling hydrogen gas 5 to 10 minutes before the start of dialysis and continued inhaling it until 5 to 10 minutes after the dialysis. In this study, hydrogen gas inhalation was employed in 6 consecutive dialysis sessions (over 2 weeks). After that, the patients underwent normal dialysis to evaluate the durability of the effects of hydrogen gas inhalation. Hydrogen gas inhalation during dialysis reduced the mean oxidative stress level of the subjects from 433 U.CARR to 395 U.CARR and reduced their mean CRP level from 1.05 mg/dL to 0.61 mg/dL. Furthermore, the effects of hydrogen gas inhalation during dialysis persisted even after the hydrogen gas inhalation was stopped; i.e., the mean oxidative stress level was reduced to 349 U.CARR, and the mean CRP level was reduced to 0.42 mg/dL. Hydrogen gas inhalation is simple and inexpensive, and is easy to carry out, even at small dialysis clinics or for home hemodialysis patients. Therefore, it is expected that hydrogen gas inhalation will prevent complications and bring about prognostic improvements in many dialysis treatment settings.