Transperitoneal administration of dissolved hydrogen for peritoneal dialysis patients: a novel approach to suppress oxidative stress in the peritoneal cavity

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress (OS) related to glucose degradation products such as methylglyoxal is reportedly associated with peritoneal deterioration in patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). However, the use of general antioxidant agents is limited due to their harmful effects. This study aimed to clarify the influence of the novel antioxidant molecular hydrogen (H2) on peritoneal OS using albumin redox state as a marker. METHODS Effluent and blood samples of 6 regular PD patients were obtained during the peritoneal equilibrium test using standard dialysate and hydrogen-enriched dialysate. The redox state of albumin in effluent and blood was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS Mean proportion of reduced albumin (ƒ(HMA)) in effluent was significantly higher in H2-enriched dialysate (62.31 ± 11.10%) than in standard dialysate (54.70 ± 13.08%). Likewise, serum ƒ(HMA) after administration of hydrogen-enriched dialysate (65.75 ± 7.52%) was significantly higher than that after standard dialysate (62.44 ± 7.66%). CONCLUSIONS Trans-peritoneal administration of H2 reduces peritoneal and systemic OS.