Oxidative stress is associated with cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders and more disease processes. Cellular adaptation to oxidative stress is critical for human survival and an important factor related to reducing the course of these progressive diseases. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is well documented for its role in oxidative regulation and cellular protection. Interestingly, while 1 to 5 consecutive treatments can lead to a reduction in mitochondrial function, 20 to 60 consecutive treatments lead to a significant improvement in mitochondrial parameters <view study> Read Less

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is being utilized for a variety of health conditions, particularly those affecting the aging population. Numerous benefits have been reported, both in clinical research and in outcome studies. This has given way to a further rise in research studies, with the goal to provide more data to help better understand and/or confirm these benefits. This study followed 30 patients, who all underwent a typical course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (60 total sessions at 2.0 ATA), and evaluated the genetic changes that followed the induction of this procedure. In particular, they looked at transcriptome sequencing. By studying transcriptomes, researchers hope to determine when and where genes are turned on or off in various types of cells and tissues Following the 60 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a total of 1912 genes were affected (1342 genes were turned on and 570 genes turned off. This study demonstrates the affects of HBOT on the genetic processes within the body and may further help to explain the many benefits that have been reported from this procedure <view study> Read Less

A landmark study published in "Aging" clearly demonstrates the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for skin health and structural integrity for older individuals. More specifically, the application of a 3 month hyperbaric protocol showed "significant aging modulation effects by decreasing senescent cells, inducing angiogenesis and increasing elastic fiber length and stability and collagen density."It should be noted that skin aging is largely influenced by a lack of circulation and higher cell senescence, both of which can be counteracted with a simple course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The hyperbaric protocol comprised of 60 daily sessions, five sessions per week within a three-month period. Each session included breathing 100% oxygen by mask at 2ATA for 90 minutes with five-minute air breaks every 20 minutes. Researches used a combination of skin biopsies and other dermatological markers to document these results on a total of 13 elderly individuals (averaging 68 years of age). <view study>   Read Less

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

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