Hydrogen gas: a novel antioxidant for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Oxidative stress plays critical role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), so therapy targeted on oxidative stress is of great importance for COPD. However, since the current used antioxidants are not satisfying, scientists have to find more effective antioxidants for COPD. Hydrogen, the most abundant chemical element in the universe, was recently discovered as a novel therapeutic medical gas, and has shown great antioxidant potential in a series of recent published researches for its feature of selectively reducing toxic reactive oxygen species. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that hydrogen gas therapy might be a novel, effective, safe, and economic treatment for COPD patients in one day.