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The build-up of plaque on the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, was slowed in an animal trial using oxygen therapy, Israeli scientists said in peer-reviewed research published Thursday.
Tel Aviv University researchers have spent years exploring the alleged anti-aging potential of therapy in a pressurized – or hyperbaric – chamber, breathing pure oxygen for part of the time.
In their latest study, they concluded that the therapy stimulates human brain function and has been shown in animals to fight the buildup of brain plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I don’t think it can ‘cure’ Alzheimer’s disease in humans, but it could significantly slow its progression and severity,” Professor Uri Ashery, senior author of the published research, told The Times of Israel. in the journal Aging. . “More studies are needed, but people could eventually start to benefit in just a few years.”
Tel Aviv University’s promotion of hyperbaric therapy to combat aging-related decline has met with mixed reactions among experts. Dr Deborah Toiber, an Alzheimer’s specialist from Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, who was not involved in the new study, told The Times of Israel that she is considering any therapy that appears to counter the decline. cognitive as “interesting and promising”.
But while some in her field believe that reducing brain plaque is the key to fighting Alzheimer’s disease, she’s skeptical.
“I think the plates are a dead end [for research]She said, suggesting that although they are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, there is insufficient evidence that eliminating or reducing them will prevent or significantly reduce the severity of the onset. of Alzheimer’s disease.
A hyperbaric chamber using Shai Efrati’s anti-aging protocol. (Courtesy: Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine)
Ashery and her team used an oxygen therapy protocol they praised in previous studies to improve “brain biology” in humans and make changes to human blood cells that “reverse” aging.
In the animal trial, which involved 15 genetically engineered mice that mimicked the degeneration caused by Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers reported that the therapy prevented the formation of amyloid plaques on the brain and eliminated some existing amyloid plaque deposits. Many healthcare professionals believe that amyloids, an insoluble protein, are linked to serious degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
“We had a control group of similar mice that didn’t receive oxygen therapy, and they developed a lot more amyloid plaques,” said Ashery, who is based at the Sagol School of Neuroscience at the University of Tel. Aviv. “Of those who received the therapy, only a third of the number of new plaques appeared, and the existing large plaques reduced their size, on average, to half of what they used to be.”
Amyloid plaques on neurons: a brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease. (selvanegra via iStock via Getty Images)
Blood flow to the brain decreases with Alzheimer’s disease, but researchers have reported improved blood flow to the brains of mice.
Ashery’s team also followed six people over the age of 60, who showed signs of cognitive decline.
This part of the research took place at the nonprofit Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Shamir Medical Center near Rishon Lezion, which offers its oxygen protocol to businesses outside of Israel. It is on sale at the Aviv Clinic in a retirement village in Florida, which offers it as a response to aging.
The research team reported that after 60 sessions of oxygen therapy over 90 days, blood flow to the brain improved by 20% on average and memory test scores improved by an average of 16.5%. .
Ashery acknowledged that the human sample size was small, but said it could reflect the benefits of oxygen therapy, as seen in mice, working in humans. “More research is needed, but there could be huge benefits if it can help people who lose cognitive abilities, before or during the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.”
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