Respiratory Care · Feb 20, 2026

Emerging Clinical Applications for Molecular Hydrogen

By Nguyen Puente B, Habet V, Wheeler CR et al.

Molecular hydrogen (H₂) has emerged as a promising therapeutic agent with potential applications across a wide range of conditions, including neurological, cardiovascular, oncologic, and respiratory diseases. Substantial preclinical studies attribute its benefits to selective antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective properties. Published clinical findings are encouraging, although data are limited by small sample sizes, methodological variability, and the absence of standardized and validated commercially available delivery systems. This narrative review summarizes the current clinical experience with inhaled H₂ therapy, discusses key challenges and limitations in the existing literature, and identifies areas of interest for future research, including the development of a validated delivery system to enable broader clinical investigation and application of H₂ therapy.

doi.org/10.1177/19433654251398759PubMed 41449652Interventions