Protective effect of hydrogen-rich saline on decompression sickness in rats.

ECOMPRESSION sickness (DCS) is a multisystem condition that often occurs when divers surface from depth, submariners escape from a disabled subma-rine, or astronauts perform space walks ( 22 ). DCS mainly arises from bubbles in supersaturated tissues and blood as an individual moves from a higher ambient pressure to a lower one. It has been well established that the risk of DCS is related to the high number of circulating bub-bles which induce endothelial damage and activation of hypoxia-ischemia damage ( 23 ). Recently, researchers found that endothelium dysfunction due to oxidative injury promoted the progression of DCS, deteriorated oxida-tive production, and thus exacerbated the damage ( 12 ). Furthermore, some studies investigated whether con-tinuous intake of a low dose of vitamin C reversed diving-induced changes in endothelial function and whether antioxidants might prevent more severe impairment to the vascular system ( 18 ). Molecular hydrogen (H