Protective effects of hydrogen on fetal brain injury during maternal hypoxia
Liu W et al. · Acta Neurochir Suppl. 2011;111:307–311.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Randomized pregnant-rat chamber experiment with postnatal functional follow-up
Women’s health
Other forms
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
12 pregnant rats at gestational day 17 and their offspring
12 dams randomized to three groups; offspring-level numbers require further extraction
Four consecutive hours during maternal hypoxia; offspring assessed through postnatal day 7
Maternal exposure for 4 hours to 2% H₂, 8% O₂ and 90% N₂
H₂ diluted with O₂ and N₂ — not Brown’s gas.
2% H₂ + 8% O₂ + 90% N₂.
Not reported — gas percentages are given, but H₂ flow in mL/min is not.
8% O₂ was co-delivered; O₂ flow in mL/min was not reported.
Room air and hypoxia gas containing 8% O₂ and 92% N₂
Outcomes and reported result
Body and brain weight, body-righting reflex, negative geotropism and oligodendrocyte morphology and counts
The article reports improved early functional-reflex measures with H₂. Brain weight and oligodendrocyte morphology and counts did not show clear group differences.
Gas composition, allocation, methods, figures and positive and null results checked in the free full text.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit. Null findings, outcome type, study design and precision all matter.
Cautions and applicability
Only 12 pregnant rats, offspring clustered within dams, unusual severe hypoxic gas and short postnatal follow-up. It is not a clinical pregnancy study.
Maternal hypoxia in pregnant rats and early postnatal offspring outcomes.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Certainty is assessed by important outcome across a complete eligible evidence set, not by attaching a final grade to one source.
Sources and record status
PMID: 21725773 · DOI: 10.1007/978-3-7091-0693-8_51
Free full text is available through PMC.
Open-access PMC article and PubMed record.
2026-08-10