乳果糖是临床常用的泻药，多用于肠道手术前和一些长期卧床便秘患者，也被用于治疗肝性脑病。实际上由于人体消化系统本身不能直接消化乳果糖，需要大肠内的细菌代谢，细菌代谢乳果糖可以产生一定量的氢气。利用这个特点，适当口服小剂量的乳果糖通过增加身体内细菌产生氢气来实现治疗疾病的目的。中风患者本身也经常使用乳果糖，也许在不经意利用了氢气的治疗作用。肝性脑病的治疗过去一直认为是可以促进大肠细菌代谢胆汁中的毒素，特别是氨这样的蛋白质代谢产物。过去从没有人考虑到氢气的作用，至少应该进行这方面的探讨。本文属于letter发表在气体医学研究杂志上，审稿过程中有人认为这样的论文没有发表价值，应该有实验证据后在发表，但也有不同看法，认为这样提出新观点仍是有价值的。

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http://www.medicalgasresearch.com/content/2/1/3/abstract

Lactulose: an effective preventive and therapeutic option for ischemic stroke by production of hydrogen

Xiao Chen, Xiao Zhai, Zhimin Kang and Xuejun Sun

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Medical Gas Research 2012, 2:3 doi:10.1186/2045-9912-2-3

Published: 6 February 2012

Abstract (provisional)

Lactulose, a synthetic sugar not able to be digested and absorbed by human beings, is widely used to treat constipation and hepatic encephalopathy clinically. Through fermentation by the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, lactulose can produce considerable amount of hydrogen, which is protective for ischemic stroke as a unique antioxidant. We propose that lactulose can induce the production of endogenous hydrogen that in turn reduces oxidative stress and ameliorate the stroke damage in human beings.