Drinking hydrogen water ameliorated cognitive impairmentin senescence-accelerated mouse

Abstract

Hydrogen has been reported to have neuron protective effects due to its antioxidant properties, but the effects for cognitive impairment in senescence-related brain alterations and the underlying mechanism have not been characterized.  In this study, we investigated the efficacies of drinking hydrogen water for prevention in spatial memory and age-related alteration of the brain using the senescence-accelerated prone mouse 8 (SAMP8), exhibiting early aging syndromes including declining abilities of learning and memory.  In the water maze test, aged SAMP8 mice were impaired in place discrimination and in repeated acquisition tasks. However, treatment with hydrogen water for 30 days resulted in prevention of age-related declines in spatial memory processing abilities, associated with increased brain serotonin levels and elevation of serum antioxidant activity. In addition, drinking of hydrogen water for 18 weeks inhibited neurodegeneration in hippocampus, although marked loss of neurons were noted in control aged brain treated with regular water. Our results showed that drinking of hydrogen water on daily basis may present a novel strategy to prevent age-related cognitive disorder.  

Key words: hydrogen water, senescence, hippocampus, oxidative stress, cognitive disorder