Free radicals are downstream mediators of several cytotoxic cascades contributing to ischemic brain injury. Molecular hydrogen (H₂) is an antioxidant potentially useful in the treatment of stroke. Hydrogen is easy to deliver, biologically non-toxic and diffuses freely through all biological structures including the blood-brain barrier and cellular membranes. This study evaluated the efficacy of hydrogen treatments in a rat stroke model compared to vehicle-treated controls using multiparametric MRI and neurological tests. Additionally, comparison of H₂ treatment alone was made with H₂ combined with minocycline (H2M) treatment (12 rats per group). The primary findings were: i) H₂ therapy reduced infarct volume in both H₂ and H2M groups compared to controls at 1 and 7 days after stroke, and ii) both H₂ and H2M improved neurologic functional recovery on day 7. The secondary outcomes were: iii) H2M treatment attenuated post-stroke hyperperfusion in the hyperacute phase, and iv) H2M markedly minimized white matter injury. In conclusion, this is the first study to use MRI to longitudinally study H₂ and H2M treatment on ischemic stroke and the first study to compare H₂ treatment combined with another potential stroke therapeutic (H2M).

自由基是导致缺血性脑损伤的几种细胞毒性级联反应的下游介质。分子氢 (H ₂ ) 是一种抗氧化剂，可用于治疗中风。氢气易于输送，在生物学上无毒，可自由扩散通过所有生物结构，包括血脑屏障和细胞膜。该研究使用多参数 MRI 和神经学测试评估了氢治疗在大鼠中风模型中的功效与车辆治疗的对照组相比。此外，将单独的H ₂治疗与H ₂联合米诺环素(H2M)治疗(每组12只大鼠)进行比较。主要发现是：i) H ₂治疗减少了 H ₂和 H2M 组在中风后第 1 天和第 7 天与对照组相比，以及 ii) H ₂和 H2M 均改善了第 7 天的神经功能恢复。次要结果是：iii) H2M 治疗减弱了超急性期的中风后高灌注，以及iv) H2M 显着减少了白质损伤。总之，这是第一项使用 MRI 纵向研究缺血性卒中的H ₂和 H2M 治疗的研究，也是第一项比较 H ₂治疗与另一种潜在卒中治疗 (H2M) 联合治疗的研究。