Israeli scientists published a study in 2020 showing that hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT) with healthy aging adults can stop or reverse aging. Their focus was on the changes in the DNA of immune cells. Professor Shai Efrati of the Sackler School of Medicine has spent his career studying the improvement of brain function damaged by trauma, stroke, and age.
35 healthy people over the age of 64 were given a series of 60 HBOT’s over 90 days. Blood samples were taken periodically before, during, and after the treatments. The research team found that a special end portion of the participants’ DNA, called a telomere, lengthened. Part of the normal aging process is that the telomeres get shorter. They also found that a cellular senescent, the end of a cell’s ability to renew itself, was reversed by a range of 11-37%.
Lifestyle changes such as improving diet and getting regular intense exercise can also have this anti-aging effect. But nowhere near the rate and success of the HBOT treatment.
Learn more about the author: Dr. Kris Ritchey
Hachmo Y, et al. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases telomere length and decreases immunosenescence in isolated blood cells: a prospective trial.” Aging (Albany, NY). 2020; 12:22445-22456. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202188
