“HBOT in this patient may be the first treatment not only to halt, but temporarily reverse disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease…”
It is no surprise to me that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) improves brain metabolism in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). I have personally experienced and written about HBOT treating nerve damage, radiation damage, wound damage and more. I felt so good after my own HBOT treatments that I practically skipped out of the door when I left the doctor’s office.
To be fair, the first study below documents only one case. Secondly, the patient’s improvement of AD was temporary.
The second study below focuses on a group of healthy, older people. Yes, brain health improved in many ways (attention, executive function, etc.) but these benefits came in a dose and time dependent manner. The total study involved 60 HBOT sessions over a period of three months.
HBOT expenses add up. I doubt that your health insurance or Medicare will cover treatments.
My goal in writing this post was to talk about non-toxic therapies for dementia in general. At a very basic level, HBOT is forcing oxygen into the body. Like nerve, radiation and wound damage, oxygen reduces inflammation and enhances healing.
According to studies, the brain health benefits can be achieved with nutrition, supplementation, moderate exercise and brain games.
As a long-term cancer survivor living with a side effect called chemobrain, my brain health is always on my mind. (I try to make light of my side effects) For the record, I know of no relationship between chemobrain and AD. I research and write about anything related to brain health.
Do you have AD or any other form of dementia? Scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
Thanks,
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
“Researchers have the first PET scan-documented case of improvement in brain metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease in a patient treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)…
After 21 treatments, the patient reported increased energy and level of activity, better mood and ability to perform daily living activities as well as work crossword puzzles. After 40 treatments, she reported increased memory and concentration, sleep, conversation, appetite, ability to use the computer, more good days (5/7) than bad days, resolved anxiety, and decreased disorientation and frustration. Tremor, deep knee bend, tandem gain, and motor speed were also improved. Repeat 18FDG PET imaging one month post-HBOT showed global 6.5-38% improvement in brain metabolism…
“HBOT in this patient may be the first treatment not only to halt, but temporarily reverse disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease…”
HBOT is an epigenetic modulation of gene expression and suppression to treat wounds and disease pathophysiology, particularly inflammation. HBOT targets all four of the pathological processes of AD by affecting the microcirculation; mitochondrial dysfunction, and biogenesis; reducing amyloid burden and tau phosphorylation; controlling oxidative stress; and reducing inflammation…”
“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…
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…
Quality of life
At baseline, there were no significant differences in all quality of life domains as calculated from the SF-36 questionnaire. All but the energy domain, had high normal values (>75) in both groups. There was a significant increase in the HBOT group’s energy levels, compared to none in the control group (Supplementary Tables 5, 6)…
Safety
Four participants (13.3%) experienced mild middle ear barotrauma (TEED 1-2) in the HBOT group compared to none (0%) in the control group. All events were treated conservatively and all participants completed their protocol. Fifteen participants (62% of those without intraocular lens implantation) had visual acuity changes in the HBOT group, compared to ten (37% of those without intraocular lens implantation). No changes were found in participants who had intraocular lens surgery prior to the study…
Discussion
We found HBOT can induce significant enhancements in cognitive performance in healthy elderly. The main improved domains include
- attention,
- information processing speed and
- executive function (set shifting) in addition to
- global cognitive functions.
Moreover, the HBOT group had a significantly enhanced brain perfusion in the superior and middle frontal gyri, supplementary motor area and superior parietal lobule…
Our protocol included 60 sessions of 100% oxygen at 2 ATA including 3 air breaks during each session in order to utilize the hyperoxic hypoxic paradox and minimize the risk for oxygen toxicity. However, the dose response curve related to the applied pressure, time and number of HBOT exposures and its relation to HIF expression and its related regenerative effects are still not fully understood and further studies are needed to find the optimal HBOT protocols…
