New approach for health maintenanceand disease control by modification of inhaled air composition

最近的研究表明，分子氢是一种新型的抗氧化剂。我们利用帕金森病、过敏反应、细菌毒素造成的肝脏损伤等模型动物研究了分子氢是否减缓了疾病的进展，发现分子氢对包括炎症性疾病在内的多种疾病都有效，在这些疾病中，氧化应激不是致病的主要原因。我们还发现，在60%的氧气条件下，氢略微延长了线虫的寿命。DNA微阵列分析显示，富氢水的短期氢暴露引起了肝组织基因表达的更显着变化。这些结果表明，在生活环境中间歇给氢可能是一种新的健康维护方法。

Recent studies demonstrated that molecular hydrogen functions as a novel antioxidant. We examined whether molecular hydrogen attenuates disease progression using model animals such as Parkinson disease, allergic reaction, liver damage by bacterial toxin and others and found that molecular hydrogen is effective for a wide variety of diseases including inflammatory diseases in which oxidative stress is not a major cause of the pathogenesis. We also found that hydrogen slightly extended the lifespan in C. elegans under 60% oxygen condition. DNA microarray analysis revealed that short-lasting hydrogen exposure by hydrogen-rich water induced more significant change in gene expression in the liver tissue. These results suggest that intermittent administration of hydrogen in living environment may serve as a new approach for health maintenance.