Human brown adipose tissue (BAT) can be activated to increase glucose uptake and energy expenditure, making it a potential target for treating obesity and metabolic disease. Brown fat produces heat to help maintain your body temperature in cold conditions and its glucose uptake is ~8-fold higher than that of skeletal muscles, on average, per gram of tissue during mild cold exposure In this animal study, a 7 day course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy was able to cause an increase glucose uptake while also inducing BAT development, leading the authors to conclude that “HBO therapy as a novel method of inducing BAT development, considering its therapeutic potential for the treatment of metabolic disorders” <view study> Read Less

For Type 2 diabetics, platelet activation plays a key role in atherothrombosis (the leading cause of mortality in the Western world). These individuals are at higher risk for cardiovascular-related deaths from both strokes and heart attacks. The high levels of blood sugars can cause platelet aggregation and blood hyperviscosity. In this study, researchers monitored platelet aggregation during a 5 day course of hyperbaric therapy (HBOT) at 2.4 ATA and observed a significant reduction in platelet aggregation parameters. This study demonstrates that HBOT could provide diabetics another protective mechanism, as this procedure has already been shown to help sensitize insulin levels and effectively help lower blood sugar levels. Both of these mechanisms can be extremely important in helping diabetics reduce their overall cardiovascular risks and helping them to live  longer, while reducing their chance of living in a  debilitated state from some of the devastating complication of diabetes (for example strokes and heart attacks). <view study> Read Less

Obesity and diabetes are both prevalent and rapidly increasing in the aging population, leading to impairment in cardiac function. In this study, rats were given a chemical compound (D-Galactose) to accelerate the aging process and produce cardiac dysfunction. The rats were pre-diabetic and  were given hyperbaric oxygen therapy 60 minutes 2.0 ATA daily. With the addition of hyperbaric therapy, the rats were able to show improvements in cardiac function, along with many other benefits. Here are the authors' conclusions for this study: "Our results indicated that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) could restore the normal cardiac function in either aging induced by D-gal rats or high-fat diet induced pre-diabetic rats. Mechanistically, HBOT effectively alleviated the cardiac dysfunction in aging pre-diabetic rats through decreased oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, dysfunctional mitochondria, metabolic and autophagic impairments. Thus, HBOT could be a potential therapeutic intervention in aging pre-diabetic people with impaired cardiac function" <view study> Read Less

The combination of aging and obesity play major factors in the accelerated aging and degeneration of the brain. Commonly seen symptoms are characterized by problems with memory, language, thinking or judgment. In this study, a simple 2 week course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy was shown to be effective in restoring cognitive function. The protocol used was 2.0 ATA, 80 minutes daily, for 14 days. The researchers noted that "HBOT restored insulin sensitivity, hippocampal functions, cognition in aging and aging-obese models" in this study done on rats <view study> Read Less

Telomere length serves as a biological clock to determine our lifespan.  Every year, our telomeres (the ends of our DNA) get shorter until they finally shorten to a length that leads to our mortality. Over the past few decades, researchers and drug companies have focused (and invested substantial capital) on this  key biological determinant (telomere length) in the hopes of being able to stop and reverse the aging process. Since many age-related diseases (like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and Alzheimer’s) are also linked to shortened telmeres, it is easy to see why so many drug and nutritional companies have been working hard on finding a cure to stop and reverse the shortening of telomeres. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has already been demonstrated in clinical studies to help the aging population by reducing the signs of aging and age-related diseases. In 2006, a landmark study showed an 800% increase in stem cell mobilization from a course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This gave us a much better understanding of the physiological benefits of this procedure in relation to the aging process. Today we have even more information as a second landmark study has been published on the effects of hyperbaric  therapy in regards to telomere length. In this study, a 3 month course of hyperbaric therapy produced a profound increase in telomere length by 20% - 38%. (This is higher than any other intervention currently available). The hyperbaric protocol used to produce these benefits included 60 hyperbaric sessions (each at 90 minute sessions at 2.0 ATA  with 3 air breaks). This exciting new study will surely lead to many more telomere-based studies in the field of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and further help to advance our knowledge of this therapy.  <View Full Study in the JOURNAL OF AGING> Due to the significance of this study, it has quickly been picked up by many news associations like the following:

• <view in the Independent>
• <view in yahoo news>
• <view in the telegraph>
• <view in aljazeera>
• <view in Science alert>
• <view in Neuroscience news>

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