Molecular hydrogen (H₂) is a physiologically inert gas. However, during the last 10 years, increasing evidence has revealed its biological functions under pathological conditions. More specifically, H₂ has protective effects against a variety of diseases, particularly nervous system disorders, which include ischemia/reperfusion injury, traumatic injury, subarachnoid hemorrhage, neuropathic pain, neurodegenerative diseases, cognitive dysfunction induced by surgery and anesthesia, anxiety, and depression. In addition, H₂ plays protective roles mainly through anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, the regulation of autophagy, and preservation of mitochondrial function and the blood-brain barrier. Further, H₂ is easy to use and has neuroprotective effects with no major side-effects, indicating that H₂ administration is a potential therapeutic strategy in clinical settings. Here we summarize the H₂ donors and their pharmacokinetics. Meanwhile, we review the effectiveness and safety of H₂ in the treatment of various nervous system diseases based on preclinical and clinical studies, leading to the conclusion that H₂ can be a simple and effective clinical therapy for CNS diseases such as ischemia-reperfusion brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, and diseases characterized by cognitive dysfunction. The potential mechanisms involved in the neuroprotective effect of H₂ are also analyzed.

分子氢(H ₂ )是一种生理惰性气体。然而，在过去的十年中，越来越多的证据揭示了其在病理条件下的生物学功能。更具体地，H ₂对多种疾病，特别是神经系统疾病，包括缺血/再灌注损伤、创伤性损伤、蛛网膜下腔出血、神经性疼痛、神经退行性疾病、手术和麻醉引起的认知功能障碍、焦虑和抑郁具有保护作用。 。此外，H ₂主要通过抗氧化、抗炎、抗凋亡、调节自噬、保护线粒体功能和血脑屏障等发挥保护作用。此外，H ₂易于使用且具有神经保护作用且无重大副作用，表明H ₂施用是临床环境中的潜在治疗策略。在这里，我们总结了 H ₂供体及其药代动力学。_{同时，我们基于临床前和临床研究回顾了H 2}在治疗各种神经系统疾病中的有效性和安全性，得出H ₂可以作为脑缺血再灌注等中枢神经系统疾病简单有效的临床治疗方法。损伤、帕金森病和以认知功能障碍为特征的疾病。还分析了H ₂神经保护作用的潜在机制。