Complementary Therapies of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy and Intermittent Claudication
Ng SY. · 2025.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Single-patient multimodal case report
Cardiovascular and circulatory health
Inhaled H₂
Indeterminate for molecular hydrogen.
Symptoms, functional observations and vascular or neurological surrogate measures in one patient.
Methods at a glance
One adult with diabetic peripheral neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease receiving multiple complementary and standard interventions.
1 patient.
Outcomes were collected at differing times about 4–6 months after the intervention package began.
Hydrogen gas inhalation for 3–4 hours/day, started after 35 external-counterpulsation sessions, alongside electrical stimulation, a carbon-dioxide footbath, nutraceuticals and lifestyle measures.
Inhaled molecular H₂; gas composition was not reported.
Hydrogen concentration and absolute gas flow were not reported.
Not reported.
Oxygen co-delivery was not reported.
No control; before-and-after clinical course with several simultaneous interventions.
Outcomes and reported result
Pain, sleep, walking distance, nerve score, ankle/toe-brachial indices, sudomotor response and laboratory measures.
The report describes improvements in pain, sleep, walking distance and selected measurements, but the contribution of hydrogen cannot be separated from the many concurrent interventions.
The full article was checked for methods, intervention details, outcomes, positive and null findings, funding and conflicts. This record does not imply medical efficacy.
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
Single uncontrolled case, inconsistent outcome timing and extensive co-intervention confounding; the report cannot support a causal hydrogen claim.
This individual multimodal case only.
JBI case-report checklist — preliminary
Critical concerns
No comparator, multiple interventions introduced over time and selective clinical observations create critical confounding.
Selection and allocation checked · Confounding and co-interventions remain possible · Missing observations checked where reported · Outcome measurement varies by endpoint · Selective reporting cannot be excluded
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: 41228043 · DOI: 10.3390/healthcare13212676
A free full article is available through PubMed Central.
Official PubMed Central full article and PubMed bibliographic record; source identity, methods, intervention, results, funding and conflicts checked 10 August 2026.
2026-08-10