Molecular Hydrogen as a Promising Therapy Could Be Linked With Increased Resting Treg Cells or Decreased Fas+ T Cell Subsets in a IgG4-PF-ILD Patient: A Case Report
Lui SW, Lu JW, Ho YJ, Tang SE, Ko KH, Hsieh TY, Liu FC. · In Vivo. 2024;38(3):1512-1518.
Study at a glance
Human
An 85-year-old woman with suspected IgG4-related progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease, hospital-acquired pneumonia, tracheostomy and mechanical-ventilator dependence after multiple concomitant treatments.
One oral PURE HYDROGEN capsule daily, added to ongoing intensive-care treatment from 12 May 2023. · Each capsule contained 170 mg hydrogen-rich coral calcium; the authors equated its stated hydrogen content with 24 × 200 mL cups of water at 1,200 ppb (0.6 mM). This manufacturer-style equivalence was reported by the source and was not independently validated by Hydrogenology.
Clinical changes were described through day 23 after H₂ initiation; the article does not provide a controlled long-term follow-up.
The authors reported radiographic improvement by days 2-4, communication by day 7, 10 ventilator-free hours on day 14 and 18 hours on day 23, with no observed adverse event. Resting Treg cells increased and Fas-positive helper/cytotoxic T-cell subsets decreased. Causation cannot be separated from concomitant care or natural recovery in this one-patient report.
One uncontrolled case with suspected rather than biopsy-confirmed IgG4-related disease, numerous prior and concomitant treatments, severe infection and no way to attribute improvement to H₂. The commercial capsule was purchased from HoHo Biotech; the authors declared no conflicts. Taiwanese public/institutional grants supported the work.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Single-patient case report without a control group
Respiratory health
Other forms
Information not yet classified
Some editorial classification fields are still pending. The source-reported outcomes and result are shown below; Hydrogenology does not infer a positive or negative signal from prose automatically.
Methods
An 85-year-old woman with suspected IgG4-related progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease, hospital-acquired pneumonia, tracheostomy and mechanical-ventilator dependence after multiple concomitant treatments.
One patient; no comparator and no blinded outcome assessment.
Clinical changes were described through day 23 after H₂ initiation; the article does not provide a controlled long-term follow-up.
One oral PURE HYDROGEN capsule daily, added to ongoing intensive-care treatment from 12 May 2023.
Oral hydrogen-generating capsule — not inhaled H₂ and not Brown's gas.
Each capsule contained 170 mg hydrogen-rich coral calcium; the authors equated its stated hydrogen content with 24 × 200 mL cups of water at 1,200 ppb (0.6 mM). This manufacturer-style equivalence was reported by the source and was not independently validated by Hydrogenology.
No formal comparator; the report describes the clinical course before and after H₂ was added while other ICU treatments and spontaneous change remained possible explanations.
Outcomes and reported result
Chest radiographs, ventilator-free time, clinical course, adverse events, peripheral-blood immune phenotypes, nucleosome count and hemoglobin.
The authors reported radiographic improvement by days 2-4, communication by day 7, 10 ventilator-free hours on day 14 and 18 hours on day 23, with no observed adverse event. Resting Treg cells increased and Fas-positive helper/cytotoxic T-cell subsets decreased. Causation cannot be separated from concomitant care or natural recovery in this one-patient report.
The complete free PMC article was checked for the patient's course, product and schedule, reported outcomes, limitations, acknowledgements, funding and conflict declaration.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit.
Limitations and applicability
One uncontrolled case with suspected rather than biopsy-confirmed IgG4-related disease, numerous prior and concomitant treatments, severe infection and no way to attribute improvement to H₂. The commercial capsule was purchased from HoHo Biotech; the authors declared no conflicts. Taiwanese public/institutional grants supported the work.
Describes one critically ill patient and cannot establish effectiveness, safety or a generalizable dose for PF-ILD.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Read how records and evidence assessments are prepared.
Sources and record status
PMID: 38688598 · DOI: 10.21873/invivo.13600
Free full article in PubMed Central.
Complete PMC article and PubMed metadata; full-text extraction checked 9 August 2026.
10 August 2026
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