Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases telomere length and decreases immunosenescence

[Thomas G]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33206062/

https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/first-time-human-study-shows-reversal-in-biology-of-aging---telomere-shortening-and-senescent-cells-accumulation---with-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-hbot-2020-11-18

 

 

[TomBAvoider]

Telomere length is the marker? Pass.

[Saul]

Michael Rae was also a skeptic about telomere length:  he noted that those of us on CR had elevated levels of epinephrine -- the "fight or flight" hormone.  And if I remember correctly, he believed that this should result in shorter telomere length.

In fact, many of us participated in a study at UCSF at which the Nobel laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn (who discovered telomerase) participated.  The hypothesis being tested was:  that CRONnies would have longer telomeres than controls.

We didn't.

  --  Saul 

[AlPater]

Cognitive enhancement of healthy older adults using hyperbaric oxygen: a randomized controlled trial.
Hadanny A, Daniel-Kotovsky M, Suzin G, Boussi-Gross R, Catalogna M, Dagan K, Hachmo Y, Abu Hamed R, Sasson E, Fishlev G, Lang E, Polak N, Doenyas K, Friedman M, Tal S, Zemel Y, Bechor Y, Efrati S.
Aging (Albany NY). 2020 Jun 26;12(13):13740-13761. doi: 10.18632/aging.103571. Epub 2020 Jun 26.
PMID: 32589613 Free PMC article.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7377835/pdf/aging-12-103571.pdf
Abstract
More than half of community-dwelling individuals sixty years and older express concern about declining cognitive abilities. The current study's aim was to evaluate hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) effect on cognitive functions in healthy aging adults.A randomized controlled clinical trial randomized 63 healthy adults (>64) either to HBOT(n=33) or control arms(n=30) for three months. Primary endpoint included the general cognitive function measured post intervention/control. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was evaluated by perfusion magnetic resonance imaging.There was a significant group-by-time interaction in global cognitive function post-HBOT compared to control (p=0.0017). The most striking improvements were in attention (net effect size=0.745) and information processing speed (net effect size=0.788).Voxel-based analysis showed significant cerebral blood flow increases in the HBOT group compared to the control group in the right superior medial frontal gyrus (BA10), right and left supplementary motor area (BA6), right middle frontal gyrus (BA6), left middle frontal gyrus (BA9), left superior frontal gyrus (BA8) and the right superior parietal gyrus (BA7).In this study, HBOT was shown to induce cognitive enhancements in healthy aging adults via mechanisms involving regional changes in CBF. The main improvements include attention, information processing speed and executive functions, which normally decline with aging.
Keywords: aging; cerebral blood flow; cognitive; hyperbaric oxygen; perfusion.
 

[Gordo]

So it's good for the brain, it clears out scenescent cells, AND lengthens telemeres? I'm surprised there isn't more enthusiasm... Wonder what it costs to do this? 

Human ageing process biologically reversed in world first

[corybroo]

Years ago in my scuba class, we were warned about oxygen toxicity.  https://www.liveabout.com/oxygen-toxicity-and-scuba-diving-2962843

As the diver descends, the ambient pressure increases as does the partial pressure of oxygen, even with compressed air much less an oxygen enhanced mixture.  I wonder what is different about the hyperbaric chamber and the diving environment (other than dry/wet 😉) that leads to a beneficial result.  Could it be a hormetic effect?

[Saul]

It was a study on 35 "healthy individuals".  Not a large enough study to draw conclusions.

  --  saul

[corybroo]

I saw this article yesterday that seems to say that the opposite (oxygen deficit in *LIMITED* exposures) has beneficial effects.  Perhaps there are hormetic effects for both extremes. 

Oxygen deficit makes nerve cells grow

to a certain extent, hypoxia can also be an important signal for growth

researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen have shown in mice that mentally and physically demanding activity triggers not only a local but also a brain-wide "functional hypoxia."

The shortage of oxygen activates, among other things, the growth factor erythropoietin (Epo), which stimulates the formation of new synapses and nerve cells.

mentally and physically demanding activities trigger a slight oxygen deficit in certain brain regions

This ultimately leads to the formation of new nerve cells. They observed that hypoxia activates the growth factor erythropoietin (Epo) in the brain.

The mice had to concentrate while running on these wheels to avoid stumbling in addition to being physically exerted. Mice that had no access to a running wheel and mice exposed to oxygen-depleted air served as comparator groups.

running wheel training had effects similar to reducing the oxygen content in the air we breathe

nerve cells were particularly affected, whereas the glial cells (auxiliary cells of the neurons) were only slightly affected. In addition, the Epo gene in the brain, together with a number of other genes, is particularly stimulated during both mental and physical activity.

We still don't know whether mild hypoxia as a result of activity also leads to stronger networking of nerve cells—and even to their formation—in humans.