Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases; however, currently used antioxidants have a high toxicity that constrains administration to a narrow window of therapeutic dosage. There is a clear need for more effective and safer antioxidants. Diatomic hydrogen (H 2 ) was proposed as a novel antioxidant that selectively reduces levels of toxic reactive-oxygen species. Recently, many studies have reported that H 2 (inhaled or orally ingested, typically as approximately 0.8 mM H 2 -saturated water), can exert beneficial effects in diverse animal models of ischaemia-reperfusion injury, and inflammatory and neurological disease. In the clinic, oral administration of H 2 -saturated water is reported to improve lipid and glucose metabolism in subjects with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance; promising results have also been obtained in reducing inflammation in haemodialysis patients and treating metabolic syndrome. These studies suggest H 2 has selective antioxidant properties, and can exert antiapoptotic, antiinflammatory and antiallergy effects. This review summarizes recent research findings and mechanisms concerning the therapeutic potential of H 2 .

Primary spinal melanoma is a very rare condition: to date < 60 cases have been reported in the literature. A 48-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of upper- and lower-extremity numbness. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a space-occupying lesion at the C2-C6 level. This was confirmed as a melanoma by immunohistochemistry. Cerebral MRI showed multiple lesions with the same signal characteristics as those seen in the spinal lesion on MRI. Complete skin, mucosal and retinal examination failed to show any primary lesion, therefore a diagnosis of primary cervical melanoma with brain metastases was made. To our knowledge this is the first report of a primary melanoma of the cervical spine with cerebral metastases at the time of diagnosis. This article presents pertinent reported literature and discusses the aetiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of this unusual condition.