Alzheimer’s disease could be “stopped” with oxygen therapy

Mouse test

Although the therapy has not yet been tested in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, when scientists tried it on mice with Alzheimer’s disease, they found that it reduced the number of amyloid plaques up to 30 percent, reduced remaining plaques by 18 percent and prevented re-emergence. again.

The sticky plaques are believed to prevent brain cells from communicating and are one of the primary targets for Alzheimer’s disease drugs.

The mice even began to build better nests after the treatment and navigate the mazes more efficiently.

Professor Uri Ashery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, said: responsible for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2020, the same team showed that hyperbaric therapy can reverse the aging process, lengthening telomeres (the protective carp at the end of chromosomes) by 20%.

It also reduced senescent or dormant cells by up to 37%, paving the way for new healthy cells to regrow.

In addition to cognitive improvements, patients undergoing therapy also reported improvements in physical abilities, such as increased energy, stamina, and even sexual performance, in men.

Few hospitals can offer hyperbaric treatment

However, there is a downside. Few hospitals are able to offer hyperbaric treatment, and current therapy comes with a grueling session schedule.

“Presumably to be useful, treatment would have to be continued indefinitely, so any patient should be highly motivated and have good transport links to the treatment center,” said Tom Dening, dementia research professor at the University of Nottingham.

“If we consider that the number of people with dementia in the UK is approaching one million, it is difficult to see how hyperbaric oxygen could ever be available on this scale.

“In short, it’s an interesting idea but far from meeting the usual criteria to become a standard treatment.

But it opens up a new avenue for the treatment of the disease. Medicines that release oxygen are already in development for heart disease and may be helpful for dementia as well.

“The article presents an interesting approach, reminding us in particular of the importance of vascular factors in the development of not only vascular dementia but also Alzheimer’s disease,” added Professor Dening.