Abstract
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT)—the medical use of oxygen at environmental pressure greater than one atmosphere absolute—is a very effective therapy for several approved clinical situations, such as carbon monoxide intoxication, incurable diabetes or radiation-injury wounds, and smoke inhalation. In recent years, it has also been used to improve cognition, neuro-wellness, and quality of life following brain trauma and stroke. This opens new avenues for the elderly, including the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases and improvement of cognition and brain metabolism in cases of mild cognitive impairment. Alongside its integration into clinics, basic research studies have elucidated HBOT’s mechanisms of action and its effects on cellular processes, transcription factors, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Therefore, HBOT is becoming a major player in 21st century research and clinical treatments. The following review will discuss the basic mechanisms of HBOT, and its effects on cellular processes, cognition, and brain disorders.
Highlights
Other teams have investigated whether Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) can improve brain function and cognition in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD), and if HBOT
Recent human studies have shown that HBOT can improve cognitive functions in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD, and VD [13,20,34,35,36,37,38], and ameliorate the reduced brain metabolism in MCI and AD [34,35]
HBOT resulted in an improved learning curve and higher resilience to interference of episodic memory in the healthy young adults [46], and induced cognitive enhancements in healthy aging adults, which multitasking performance scores were significantly enhanced by the HBO environment, supporting the hypothesis that oxygen is a rate-limiting factor for brain activity [45]
Summary
The use of HBOT in cases of brain-related disorders is pending FDA approval, there are numerous studies showing improved cognitive assessment following. Growing evidence suggests that HBOT can induce neuroplasticity and improve cognitive function in patients suffering from chronic neurocognitive impairment due to TBI, stroke, and anoxic brain damage [22,23,30,31,32]. These changes were associated with the induction of cerebral angiogenesis, increased CBF and volume, and improved cerebral white and gray microstructures [33]. Other teams have investigated whether HBOT can improve brain function and cognition in neurodegenerative diseases such as AD and vascular dementia (VD), and if HBOT can affect healthy people or improve cognitive decline in the elderly who are suffering from cognitive impairments
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