Study shows hyperbaric oxygen can reverse the aging process

Hyperbaric oxygen treatments can stop the aging of blood cells and even reverse the aging process in healthy aging adults, according to a recently published study from scientists at Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Shamir Medical Center. The researchers found that a unique protocol of high-pressure oxygen treatments in a pressure chamber can reverse two major processes associated with aging: the shortening of telomeres (protective regions at both ends of every chromosome) and the accumulation of old, malfunctioning (senescent) cells.

“For many years, our team has been engaged in hyperbaric research and therapy — treatments based on protocols of exposure to high-pressure oxygen at various concentrations inside a pressure chamber,” explained Prof. Shai Efrati of the Sackler School of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience at TAU and founder and director of the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Shamir Medical Center. “Our achievements included the improvement of brain functions damaged by age, stroke or brain injury,” Efrati said. In 2017, ISRAEL21c reported on another Tel Aviv University study that revealed that hyperbaric oxygen treatments helped ameliorate symptoms experienced by people with Alzheimer’s. “In the current study we wished to examine the impact of HBOT on healthy and independent aging adults, and to discover whether such treatments can slow down, stop or even reverse the normal aging process at the cellular level,” said Efrati. -- More...