Protective Effect of Hydrogen-Rich Saline on Decompression Sickness in Rats.

lntroduction: Hydrogen (H₂) has been reported to be effective in the treatment of oxidative injury, which plays an important role in the process of decompression sickness (DCS). This study was designed to test whether H₂-rich saline (saline saturated with molecular hydrogen) protected rats against DCS. Methods: Models of DCS were induced in male Sprague- Dawley rats weighing 300-310g. H₂-rich (0.86 mmol L^-1) saline was administered intraperitoneally (10 ml. kg^-1) at 24 h, 12 h, immediately before compression, and right after fast decompression. Results: H₂-rich saline significantly decreased the incidence of DCS from 67.57 to 35.14% and partially counteracted the increases in the total concentra- tion of protein in the bronchoalveolar lavage from 0.33 ± 0.05 to 0.14 ± 0.01 mg ml^-1 (mean ± SD; P < 0.05), myeloperoxidase activity from 0.86 ± 0.16 to 0.44 ± 0.13 U/g, levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) from 0.80 ± 0.10 to 0.48 ± 0.05 nmol mg^-1, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine from 253.7 ± 9.3 to 191.2 ± 4.8 pg mg^-1 in the lungs, and MDA level from 1.77 ± 0.20 to 0.87 ± 0.23 nmol mg_-1 in the spinal cord in rat DCS models. The histopathology results also showed that H₂-rich saline ameliorated DCS injuries. Discussion: It is concluded that H₂-rich saline may have a protective effect against DCS, possibly due to its antioxidant action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]