Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the treatment of Alzheimer’s
18/01/2024
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Chronic Stress Management
21/02/2024
Throughout history, humans have sought ways to extend their lifespan and combat ageing. While traditional methods like diet and exercise have limited efficacy, emerging techniques such as stem cell therapy and plasma cell transfusion are invasive and still under investigation. However, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) presents a non-invasive and promising approach in anti-ageing research, showing potential benefits in clinical trials. This is what HBOT India has to say.
What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Breaking down the constituent words, Hyper means “increased” & baric means “pressure”, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy simply means treatment that involves providing 100% pure Oxygen at high pressure (about twice or thrice that of normal pressure in air).
It is a new and promising method of treating many conditions in which conventional methods of treatment have failed to adequately treat the condition and in those where lack of oxygen might be one of the causative factors. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can overcome the shortage of Oxygen abruptly thus proving efficient in the treatment of such conditions. One such condition for which Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is an emergent option is natural process ageing.
What is Ageing?
Ageing is the natural process of growing older, accompanied by a gradual loss of normal functions of organs of the body, leading to weakness and increased susceptibility to diseases. Everyone wants to look and function as they did in their 20s even when they are beyond 60. This urge to look like their peak days has led researchers to study mechanisms of ageing and subsequently look for ways to slow it down!
Skin being the most visible and largest organ of the body is no exception to the ageing process and slowly gets wrinkled or gets fine lines as the years pass by. Skin is perhaps the most looked-after organ and hence there is an obvious need for it to stop ageing.
How skin undergoes Ageing Process?
The skin undergoes an ageing process primarily by two mechanisms – intrinsic ageing and extrinsic ageing. Intrinsic referring to internal ageing, aka chronological ageing, is the basic process of ageing that occurs in all the organs of the body.
Another type of ageing that skin undergoes known as extrinsic ageing is due to exposure to environmental factors like sunlight, smoking, and dietary intake. Sunlight is the primary factor in ageing process through its Ultraviolet Radiation particularly the UV-B type. UV-B speeds up wrinkle formation as we age apart from the influence of genetic factors.
UV-B promotes wrinkle formation by stimulating pathways such as Elastase, Matrix Metalloproteinase factor (MMP) & Vacuole-Endothelial Growth Factors (VEGF) which further result in Angiogenesis leading to wrinkle formation. All the pathways are inhibited by a high concentration of Oxygen as provided in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Collagen production also decreases as we age due to lesser fibro-blast mobilization. Elastin production is either impaired or it is degraded quickly by Elastase; this leads to a weaker extracellular matrix. Another factor that contributes to ageing process is decreased tissue perfusion by Oxygen due to lesser number of available blood vessels due to reduced androgenic capability.
Women also are at a genetic disadvantage of developing more wrinkles. Smokers and people who consume a carbohydrate-rich diet are also prone to more wrinkle formation. However, Vitamin C and Linoleic Acid consumption decrease wrinkles.
At a micro level ageing is attributed primarily to shortening of telomeres, which are protective shields at the end of a chromosome which contains DNA. They prevent chromosomes from sticking to each other. As we age, these telomeres decrease in size leaving us more susceptible to diseases. Another factor that presents at the micro level is an increase in the level of senescent cells like melanocytes.
Anti-ageing Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Despite the previous knowledge that Oxygen (due to its production of Reactive Oxygen species) speeds up process of ageing, new research suggests that only acute provision of high-pressure Oxygen is harmful and that continued Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy sessions are quite beneficial in slowing down skin ageing. A pioneer study at Tel Aviv University was the first to demonstrate this effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. 35 healthy individuals, aged 64 or more, that consented to trial were scheduled for 60 Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy sessions over 1 and a half months.
Before the study blood samples were taken, which were repeated during and after the end of 60 Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy sessions. Factors such as Telomere length and presence of senescent cells were studied.
Post-therapy results were amazing. For the first time, telomere shortening was reversed at a rate of up to 20 to 38%, a groundbreaking result in field of anti-ageing therapies. Blood samples also indicated a decrease in senescent cells by up to 37%. This success in Tel Aviv has inspired more studies on the Anti-Ageing effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Another clinical trial was conducted which consisted of 13 male patients aged over 68 who consented to multiple skin biopsies to study the effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. The study spanned over 6 months which consisted of a 3-month control period followed by a 3-month Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Phase in which skin was directly exposed.
Skin biopsies were taken at start of the study, after a 3-month control period, and 2 weeks after the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy ended. Results at the end of the study were promising; an increase in the density of collagen, elastic fiber lengths as well as in the number of blood vessels per-fusing the skin were recorded. These indicated improved skin health after 3 months of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy sessions. An additional positive parameter was a decrease in the number of senescent cells in the blood.
Anti-Ageing Effects on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Brain
The brain consumes most amount of oxygen despite not being the largest organ in the body. It might be considered by some as the most important organ of the body. As we age, the brain gets older too resulting in impairment of cognitive skills. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has demonstrated improvement in multitasking and other cognitive tasks in adults aged 22 to 68. Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy has also been demonstrated to be the most effective and probably the only disease-reversing therapy available for Alzheimer’s disease.
Anti-Ageing Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Metabolism
Diabetes is one the most common conditions that the aged are suffering from today. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has also proven its effectiveness in increasing the uptake of Insulin by cells thus preventing diabetes. This effect was also aided by another study which resulted in a reduction of Diabetes type 2 development markers i.e. TN F-alpha, Interleukin-6, and accumulated glaciation end products (Ages).
Even after the development of diabetes, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy was effective in controlling it as indicated by a reduction in HbA1c levels; which indicates level of blood sugar control in the past 120 days.
Anti-ageing Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on other Organs
Muscle activity and strength decrease with age, and this is linked to a reduction in the muscles’ ability to use oxygen. Research suggests that modest Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may be able to reverse this reduction in capacity.
Heart: The heart is the most important organ for sustaining oxygen perfusion in the body by pumping blood throughout the body. The heart’s capacity to contract and pump blood decreases with age. In one study, asymptomatic elderly patients had 60 sessions of 2ATA Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy; this seemed to mitigate the ageing effect and improve cardiac pumping function.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for 60 sessions improved the Forced Vital Capacity of individuals with lung illness, according to a study.
In what ways can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy counteract its effects?
The anti-ageing benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy have been explained by several processes that have been investigated and put forth. The following discusses one such study:
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy promotes the mobilization of stem cells, which then mature into endothelial cells, which eventually give rise to vessels
- Increases angiogenesis directly by up-regulating a number of variables, including the Vascular-Endothelial Growth Factor
- Suppresses inflammatory mediators including interleukin to reduce inflammation
- Enhance the body’s antioxidant defenses
- Prevents or stops telomere shortening
In conclusion, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a new and exciting avenue for aesthetic medicine research. Unlike other anti-ageing treatments available, it is non-invasive. It is utilized in numerous aesthetic clinics and is the subject of ongoing study. Its anti-ageing benefits extend beyond the skin. Its anti-ageing benefits extend to all bodily organs, including the heart, brain, and pulmonary system, in addition to the skin. Increased use of this alternative is recommended over unnatural choices like Fillers and Botox injections. Further investigation will facilitate the adoption of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a more widely used aesthetic treatment option.
