China’s Medical Researchers Exploring Hydrogen Therapy (Both Gaseous Inhalation And Hydrogen Water) For COVID-19
Source: COVID-19 Treatments - Hydrogen Nov 13, 2021 3 years, 22 hours, 59 minutes ago
COVID-19 Treatments: Researchers from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital-China and Weifang Medical University-China are exploring the usage of hydrogen therapy as a possible adjuvant treatment for COVID-19.
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COVID-19 is an acute respiratory disease caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has no specific and effective treatment to date except for some garbage toxic pharmaceuticals being peddled by the Western elites and greedy big pharma controlling the COVID-19 narratives.
The pathophysiological process of the COVID-19 is an excessive inflammatory response after a human host gets infected with a virus. Inflammatory storms play an important role in the development of the COVID-19.
A large number of studies have confirmed that hydrogen has a therapeutic effect on many diseases via inhibiting excessive inflammatory cells and factors.
Recently, a study led by the Academician Dr Zhong Nanshan in China on the treatment of the patients with the COVID-19 by inhalation of a mixed gas composed of hydrogen and oxygen has attracted widespread international attention and hydrogen therapy has also been included in a new treatment plan for the COVID-19 in China.
The study findings mainly describe the mechanism of occurrence of the COVID-19, summarizes the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of hydrogen on the critical disease, and analyzes the feasibility and potential therapeutic targets of hydrogen for the treatment of the COVID-19.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Frontiers in Medicine.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.671215/full
The COVID-19 disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to the ongoing global pandemic that has infected more than 252 million people globally and killed more than 5.08 million people. The pathophysiological process of COVID-19 is an excessive inflammatory response in the human host after the viral infection.
Various therapies have been tested to alleviate symptoms of this disease; however, no specific and effective treatment exists.
Hydrogen therapy has now been included in a new treatment plan for COVID-19 in China.
SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis
Typically, in COVID-19, the excessive activation of the immune cells and persistent inflammation caused by the viral infection generate large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, its replication depends on the energy metabolism of the host cells, while the glycolytic pathway of the host cells is significantly enhanced, resulting in the production of a large number of ROS.
During the course of COVID-19, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection and ROS produced by the above two pathways lead to diffuse alveolar damage. This impedes alveolar gas exchange and causes dyspnea and hypoxemia. Hence, the lung is more prone to secondary infection.
How Hydrogen Therapy Works
Interestingly, hydrogen therapy targets both inflammatory storms and ROS.
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The lowest density gas known, hydrogen has the smallest molecular mass and a degree of reducibility.
In the past, hydrogen therapy has been tested in UV radiation-induced squamous cell carcinoma, end-stage colorectal cancer, parasitic liver diseases, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, Parkinson's disease, soft-tissue injuries, insulin resistance, rheumatoid arthritis, tumors, sepsis, and organ injury.
Importantly hydrogen therapy has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of inflammatory damage.
During the initial stages, the hydrogen used in clinical trials was mainly in a non-gaseous form. Clinical studies have shown that drinking hydrogen-rich water (HRW) is safe and well-tolerated; HRW containing 7 ppm H2 could protect the vascular endothelium from ROS.
Many other forms of hydrogen have also been used such as hydrogen-rich saline injection containing 1 ppm H2, hydrogen-rich tablets, and hydrogen-rich oral capsules.
Clinical trials recently have also confirmed the therapeutic effects of hydrogen gas inhalation. Therapeutic effects of inhalation of hydrogen gas have been demonstrated in patients with acute severe tracheal stenosis, end-stage colorectal cancer, acute cerebral infarction, postcardiac arrest syndrome after acute myocardial infarction, and non-small cell lung cancer. However, evidence relating a direct effect of hydrogen on viruses is lacking.
At present in China, COVID-19 hydrogen therapy involves inhalation of a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen (66% hydrogen; 33% oxygen) at 6 L/min through the nasal cannula by using a Hydrogen/Oxygen Generator. Evidence suggests that H2-O2 inhalation for 7.7 hours, according to the standard of care, significantly improved the severity of COVID-19 within two days, including dyspnea scale, chest distress, chest pain, cough scale, and resting oxygen saturation, when compared to control group of patients who received daily standard of care with oxygen therapy.
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Potential targets of hydrogen for the treatment of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). After the viral infection, the inflammatory cells in the tissues and blood are activated to destroy the virus through phagocytosis and the release of cytokines. However, excessive inflammation causes uncontrollable body damage. In the COVID-19, hydrogen may exert its protective effect on the respiratory system by inhibiting the excessive activation of the neutrophils and macrophages and reducing the release of the cytokines.
It was reported that these benefits are likely conferred due to lower inhalation resistance after hydrogen/oxygen mixture inhalation.
In another instance, a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, parallel-group, controlled trial showed that inhalation of a hydrogen/oxygen mixture could significantly improve acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms, including dyspnea, cough, and expectoration, better than only oxygen therapy with acceptable safety and tolerability profile.
Identified Targets Of Hydrogen In COVID-19
a) Neutrophils
The COVID-19 Treatments study findings showed that inhalation of hydrogen gas can reduce the infiltration of the neutrophils in lung tissue and can aid in alleviating inflammatory damage to the lung tissue in the disease states.
Study data suggests that hydrogen gas inhalation improved inflammatory cell infiltration-induced lung structural damage and enhanced the survival rate in severe septic mice modeled with cecal ligation and perforation.
Furthermore, in a rat model of the hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation, briefly inhaling 2% hydrogen gas after hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation minimized the degree of lung injury via reducing the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the lung tissue.
b) Macrophages
It was also found that hydrogen reduces monocyte adsorption by the endothelial adhesion molecules under inflammatory response, thus preventing blood-borne monocytes from passing through the vascular endothelium and activating into the macrophages that cause an excessive inflammatory response.
Importantly hydrogen therapy can stabilize the function of macrophages and prevent damage caused by excessive activation and phagocytic defects.
c) Cytokines
the study findings showed that hydrogen reduces airway inflammation by reducing cytokine levels.
The use of hydrogen gas can reduce the destructive cytokine storm and lung injury caused by SARS-CoV-2 in the early stage of COVID-19 and stimulate sputum drainage and ultimately reduce the incidence of severe disease.
d) Reactive Oxygen Species
Interestingly it was found that in COVID-19, ROS and inflammatory response may be co-dependent. Hydrogen may either work by removing toxic ROS directly or indirectly improving the antioxidant activity of the body. Hydrogen therapy renders both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and thus may aid in preventing disease progression in COVID-19.
As An Adjunctive Therapy
A possible critical reason for COVID-19-related respiratory disorders is that SARS-CoV-2 attacks the pulmonary capillary endothelial cells and triggers an immune response.
Hydrogen therapy may inhibit tissue damage by the inflammatory cells at all the stages of the inflammatory response.
The study team concluded, “Hydrogen can improve macrophage function and reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via its anti-inflammatory effect, which may be also a therapeutic target for its treatment of Kawasaki-like diseases caused by the COVID-19. COVID-19 could be served as virus-induced sepsis. The main reason for the patients with COVID-19 respiratory disorders is that SARS-CoV-2 attacks the pulmonary capillary endothelial cells and triggers an immune response. Massive cellular and mucus exudate accumulation cause airway obstruction and the patients experience dyspnea. Hydrogen may inhibit tissue damage by the inflammatory cells and inflammation factors at all the stages of the inflammatory response. Since hydrogen can play a potential antiviral effect such as hydrogen sulfide, it remains to be further studied.”
The study team warns that despite its potential efficacy and safety for use as adjunctive therapy, the mechanism of hydrogen alleviating symptoms of patients with the COVID-19 still needs to be further clarified.
Read Also:https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-treatments-chinese-researchers-propose-hydrogen-therapy-as-an-adjuvant-to-treat-severe-covid-19-patients
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