Intrathecal infusion of hydrogen-rich normal saline attenuates neuropathic pain via inhibition of activation of spinal astrocytes and microglia in rats
Ge Y et al. · PLoS One. 2014;9(5):e97436.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Rat L5 spinal-nerve-ligation experiments including crossover, repeated-treatment and preemptive-treatment cohorts
Musculoskeletal and pain research
Other forms
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Rats with L5 spinal-nerve ligation
Principal behavioral comparisons used n=10; immunostaining n=10 and selected protein assays n=5
Single-dose effect followed for 8 hours; repeated and preemptive schedules extended across the perioperative period
20 μL hydrogen-rich saline injected intrathecally as single, repeated or preemptive treatment
H₂ dissolved in saline — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas and not inhalation.
0.6 mmol/L dissolved H₂; prepared under 0.4 MPa for 6 hours.
Not applicable — intrathecal saline, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the H₂ intervention.
Equal-volume normal saline, sham surgery and untreated catheterized controls
Outcomes and reported result
Mechanical allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia, 8-OH-G, MnSOD nitration, glial activation, TNF-α and IL-1β
The article reports short-acting analgesic behavior after one dose, improvement without observed tolerance during repeated dosing and lower oxidative, glial and inflammatory measures.
Concentration, volume, schedules, crossover design, positive findings, funding and conflicts checked in the open-access 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
Invasive intrathecal delivery in a small preclinical nerve-ligation model with several separate cohorts.
Neuropathic pain behavior after nerve ligation in rats, not treatment of neuropathic pain in people.
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: 24857932 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097436
Open-access full text is available through PMC and PLOS.
Open-access PMC/PLOS full text and PubMed record; no retraction or expression of concern was shown in the checked records on 7 August 2026.
2026-08-10