Oxygen inhalation in obliterative arterial disease, including its use in senility.

Abstract

AbstractIn elderly persons with excellent mental and physical health there may be only a 7 per cent decrease in cerebral blood flow with aging, whereas in patients with cerebral arteriosclerosis and organic brain disease there is demonstrable hypoxia of the brain tissue with a 20–25 per cent decrease in cerebral blood flow. As suggested by Kety et al., lack of oxygen seems to be the primary disturbance, rather than inability of the aging brain cells to absorb and metabolize oxygen. An adequate environmental oxygen supply to the brain is an important factor in the maintenance of unimpaired function of the higher faculties in man.This article outlines the historical development of our knowledge of ischemic hypoxia as a physiological background for the therapeutic use of hyperbaric oxygen in cerebral arteriosclerosis and senility. Data also are included on the intermittent inhalation of high concentrations of oxygen at atmospheric pressure, over prolonged periods. With either type of oxygen therapy there have been reports of improvements in patients with obliterative disease of the cerebral, coronary and peripheral circulation, especially with regard to the acute manifestations.Additional studies are required to confirm the value of such oxygen therapy in cerebral arteriosclerosis, particularly as it often appears to be effective in acute coronary arteriosclerosis. This admittedly speculative concept seems worthy of investigation.