A new landmark study in hyperabric medicine (HBOT) shows that breathing air (21% oxygen) at 1.3 ATA of hyperbaric pressure mobilizes stem cells! Since 2006, it became clear to us that HBOT helps the body to accelerate tissue repair and regeneration by stimulating the release of stem cells in the bone marrow What we did not know is at what pressure level this occurs at. So a team of researchers decided to try and find out and they published their results in this study. They found that a minimal pressure level of 1.3 ATA caused a significant elevation in stem cells. Moreover, the researches did not add extra oxygen into a breathing apparatus, so the results were purely based upon pressure-alone. This landmark study clearly demonstrates that pressure-alone can be a contributing factor to some of the remarkable benefits that have been documented with hyperabric oxygen therapy. More importantly, it shows that these potentially-contributing  benefits can be achieved at lower pressures and without the use of supplemental oxygen. <view study> Read Less

Adipose-derived stem cells are considered as candidate cells for regenerative plastic surgery. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy with 3 ATA increases viability and proliferation of adipose-derived stem cells, alters marker expression and subpopulations, decreases TGF-β secretion, and skews adipose-derived stem cells toward adipogenic differentiation” <view study> Read Less

The results of this study showed a synergistic effect of HBO and PRP (platelet-rich plasma) on knee cartilage regeneration. “The aggregation and activation of growth factors released from platelets whose activation is increased in the hyperbaric environment may explain this synergistic effect. This may result in a better regeneration than the effect of PRP or HBO alone” <view study> Read Less

BDNF is a very powerful protein that is released by your body in the efforts to stimulate the production of brand new brain cells (neurogenesis). This protein is vital to learning, memory, and higher thinking. Moreover, the expression of this protein is significantly reduced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease. With this understanding, research is now pouring in to help us gain a better understanding of BDNF and its role in brain plasticity and regeneration. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been noted for its brain regenerative effects, and this new study supports this notion. Researchers used a lower pressure of 1.5 ATA along with 2.0 ATA, and found that both pressures were able to cause significant increases in BDNF in just 3 to 5 days of consecutive HBOT sessions. “The BDNF concentration increased in a highly significant manner after three consecutive HBO treatments up to 43.94 ng/mL (p < 0.001) and after five HBO treatments up to 51.63 (p < 0.001) when compared to the BDNF concentration after one HBO treatment”. With respect to this study, the purpose was to demonstrate the potential benefits of adding HBOT to cochlear implantation as a promising adjunct treatment for hearing loss. <view study> Read Less

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that is very common amongst the elderly and one that, for many, negatively affects their quality of life by causing a great deal of debility, and causing a dependency on pain medications (NSAIDS). OA is basically a degenerative condition of the joints whereby inflammatory markers seem to be the most important mediators of this cartilage destruction. Keep in mind that cartilage is able to repair itself through the induction of local growth factors, leading to the production of new collagen. This 'regenerative' repair is counteracted by the continual destruction seen with this disorder, leading to a progressive degenerative state. Since HBOT is considered to be a regenerative therapy, it would make sense that HBOT could help with a degenerative condition like OA. HBOT is already being used by OA sufferers for its anti-inflammatory pain-relieving effects, but now this study gives us insights on its potential long term benefits on reducing the net destruction and degeneration observed in OA. Researches were able to show that HBOT can benefit OA by helping with both factors that are involved in this disease. Firstly, HBOT caused a marked reduction of the key inflammatory markers involved this condition; thereby, reducing further degeneration. Secondly, HBOT caused an increase in the number of growth factors involved in the production of new collagen and cartilage formation, thus helping in the repair and regeneration of this tissue. The clinical relevance of this study is enormous, as it may offer OA sufferers the ability to counteract the degradative forces involved in OA, while still offering its pain-relieving benefits <view study> Read Less