This exciting new study shows that Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy (HBOT) may REVERSE dementia development by preventing the deposit of new amyloid plaques on the brain cells and even leading to the removal of existing ones! The 2 most common types of dementia are vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is now believed that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can effectively help to halt both of these devastating conditions, while also being able to help reverse the cognitive decline seen in the aging process. The production of amyloid plaques are a hallmark of AD, consisting of hard, insoluble accumulations of beta amyloid proteins that clump together between the nerve cells and block their communication. Compounding this, is a reduction in oxygen (hypoxia) and reduction in blood flow to these regions inside the brain. Since the pathophysiology includes both the build up of amyloid plaques and a reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF), the researchers designed this study to deploy a typical course of HBOT and then observe any changes in both amyloid plaque and CBF, while also documenting any clinical improvements. They did this by presenting a 2-fold study, the first being an animal study which was then followed up with a small human study. Both showed extremely promising results and confirmed previous studies for HBOT’s potential role in treating dementia and memory loss. Initial Animal Study: Mice were exposed to 20 HBOT sessions (2.0 ATA, 60 min) causing a significant:

• Reduction in amyloid burden (by reducing the volume of pre-existing plaques and attenuating the formation of new ones).
• Improvement in vascular parameters
• Improvement in behavior and performance of cognitive-based tasks.

Human follow-up study: Six elderly patients with significant memory loss were treated with 60 HBOT sessions (2.0 ATA, 90 min) and both CBF and cognitive function were evaluated and the results were as follows:

• Cerbral Blood Flow — Following HBOT, there were significant CBF increases in several brain areas, including 8 Brodmann areas.
• Cognitive function — Cognitive assessment revealed a significant increase in the global cognitive score, where memory, attention and information processing speed domain scores showed most benefits. The improvements in these scores correlated with improved short and working memory.

This study, along with previous studies by these authors, demonstrates that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be deployed at any stage of the dementia process, from early on with mild cognitive impairment, to advanced stages seen in Alzheimer's. disease. <view study> <view media Exclusive: Alzheimer’s could be ‘halted’ using oxygen therapy> Read Less

The most common cause of dementia in the elderly is Alzheimer's disease (AD). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been reported to have numerous physiological benefits for the brain, particularly for aging or degenerative brain disorders. This review article published in the journal of Alzheimer's disease (JAD) reviewed 391 full text articles between 1980-2021. The data from these studies showed both neurocognitive benefits along with positive clinical outcome for AD. These results led the authors of this review article to advocate for the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for AD. They also encourage future studies to be performed for protocol development, with the goal of long-term cognitive health <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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This study found that hyperbaric oxygen treatment has a protective effect on early cognitive function, especially memory in rats with mild cognitive impairment <view study> Read Less

A total of 53 patients (42 with Alzheimers disease and 11 mild cognitive impairment) were treated with a 20 day course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Each hyperbaric session consisted of 3 sequential parts; first, 20 minutes of oxygen breathing, followed by 15 minutes of breathing air, and finally 20 minutes of breathing oxygen under pressure at 1.2 ATA. Results — One course (20 sessions) of hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly improved cognition in both Alzheimer patients and patient with Mild Cognitive impairment, with the latter having more long term benefits (> 1 month). These results are very promising for Alzheimer patients, and suggest that it is possible that multiple courses might be the solution for giving significantly longer benefits to AD patients. More research is still needed <view study> Read Less