Research Library

The deuterium-depletion hypothesis has been studied for more than thirty years. This page is a working library of peer-reviewed research we draw on at Neolight Waters. It is not a substitute for talking to a clinician; it is an honest reading list.

Neolight Waters is an independent producer; we cite this literature as evidence, not as our own work.

Foundational paper

  • Somlyai G, Jancsó G, Jákli Gy, Vass K, Barna B, Lakics V, Gaál T. Naturally occurring deuterium is essential for the normal growth rate of cells. FEBS Letters 317, 1–4 (1993). [PDF]

Mechanism — mitochondria, ATP synthase, isotope effects

  • Boros LG, D’Agostino DP, Katz HE, Roth JP, Meuillet EJ, Somlyai G. Submolecular regulation of cell transformation by deuterium depleting water exchange reactions in the tricarboxylic acid substrate cycle. Medical Hypotheses 87, 69–74 (2016). [ScienceDirect]
  • Boros LG, Somlyai G, Collins TQ, Patel H, Beger RD. Serine Oxidation via Glycine Cleavage (SOGC) Continues its Emergence as a Hallmark of Defective Mitochondria. Cell Metabolism 23, 635–648 (2016).
  • Kovács BZs, Puskás LG, Nagy LI, Papp A, Gyöngyi Z, Fórizs I, Czuppon Gy, Somlyai I, Somlyai G. Blocking the Increase of Intracellular Deuterium Concentration Prevents the Expression of Cancer-Related Genes, Tumor Development, and Tumor Recurrence in Cancer Patients. Cancer Control 29, 1–11 (2022). DOI: 10.1177/10732748211068963.
  • Csonka GI, Somlyai I, Somlyai G. Deuterium Concentration as a Dual Regulator: Depletion and Enrichment Elicit Divergent Transcriptional Responses in A549 Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 27, 2605 (2026). DOI: 10.3390/ijms27062605.

Oncology — pre-clinical and clinical observation

  • Krempels K, Somlyai I, Somlyai G. A retrospective evaluation of the effects of deuterium-depleted water consumption on four patients with brain metastases from lung cancer. Integrative Cancer Therapies 7(3), 172–181 (2008).
  • Kovács A, Guller I, Krempels K, Somlyai I, Jánosi I, Gyöngyi Z, Szabó I, Ember I, Somlyai G. Deuterium Depletion May Delay the Progression of Prostate Cancer. Journal of Cancer Therapy 2, 548–556 (2011).
  • Gyöngyi Z, Budán F, Szabó I, Ember I, Kiss I, Krempels K, Somlyai I, Somlyai G. Deuterium Depleted Water Effects on Survival of Lung Cancer Patients and Expression of Kras, Bcl2 and Myc Genes in Mouse Lung. Nutrition and Cancer 65(2), 240–246 (2012).
  • Krempels K, Somlyai I, Gyöngyi Z, Ember I, Balog K, Abonyi O, Somlyai G. A retrospective study of survival in breast cancer patients undergoing deuterium depletion in addition to conventional therapies. J. Cancer Research & Therapy 1(8), 194–200 (2013).
  • Somlyai G, Kovács BZs, Somlyai I, Papp A, Nagy LI, Puskás LG. Deuterium depletion inhibits lung cancer cell growth and migration in vitro and results in severalfold increase of median survival time of non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving conventional therapy. Journal of Cancer Research & Therapy 9(2), 12–19 (2021).
  • Boros LG, Somlyai I, Kovács BZs, Puskás LG, Nagy LI, Dux L, Farkas Gy, Somlyai G. Deuterium Depletion Inhibits Cell Proliferation, RNA and Nuclear Membrane Turnover to Enhance Survival in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Control 28, 1–12 (2021). DOI: 10.1177/1073274821999655.
  • Somlyai G, Kovács BZs, Papp A, Somlyai I. A Preliminary Study Indicating Improvement in the Median Survival Time of Glioblastoma Multiforme Patients by the Application of Deuterium Depletion in Combination with Conventional Therapy. Biomedicines 11, 1989 (2023). DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11071989.
  • Kovács BZs, Papp A, Somlyai I, Somlyai G. Clinical Impact of Deuterium Depletion on Survival Outcomes in Pancreatic Cancer. Journal of Clinical Review & Case Reports 9(11), 1–7 (2024).
  • Somlyai G, Papp A, Somlyai I, Kovács BZs, Debrődi M. Real-World Data Confirm That the Integration of Deuterium Depletion into Conventional Cancer Therapy Multiplies the Survival Probability of Patients. Biomedicines 13(4), 876 (2025). DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines13040876.

Metabolic health and diabetes

  • Molnár M, Horváth K, Dankó T, Somlyai I, Kovács BZs, Somlyai G. Deuterium-depleted water stimulates GLUT4 translocation in the presence of insulin, which leads to decreased blood glucose concentration. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 476, 4507–4516 (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s11010-021-04231-0.
  • Somlyai G, Somlyai I, Fórizs I, Czuppon Gy, Papp A, Molnár M. Effect of Systemic Subnormal Deuterium Level on Metabolic Syndrome Related and other Blood Parameters in Humans: A Preliminary Study. Molecules 25, 1376 (2020). DOI: 10.3390/molecules25061376.

Ageing and other findings

  • Ávila DS, Somlyai G, Somlyai I, Aschner M. Anti-aging effects of deuterium depletion on Mn-induced toxicity in a C. elegans model. Toxicology Letters 211(3), 319–324 (2012).
  • Györe I, Somlyai G. The effect of deuterium depleted drinking water on the performance of sportsmen. Hungarian Review of Sports Medicine 46/1, 27–38 (2005).
  • Ajibola W, Karcagi I, Somlyai G, Somlyai I, Fehér T. Deuterium-depletion has no significant impact on the mutation rate of Escherichia coli. PLOS ONE 16(3), 1–17 (2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243517.

Further reading

What we will and will not claim

The studies above are encouraging and important, but sample sizes have been modest, replication outside Hungary remains limited, and no regulatory authority anywhere has approved DDW as a treatment for any disease. Neolight Waters supplies deuterium-depleted water; we do not sell, prescribe, or claim a cure. If you are in active medical care, please discuss DDW with your physician.

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