Age Reversal Using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Imagine if you could rapidly regenerate like a planarian, with a robust body, untainted by debilitating age-related disorders. Wouldn’t that make our lives a tad simpler? All that stands in your way is your upper limit of oxygen consumption and energy utilization. Thanks to a generation of exceptional scientists, we are now progressing from anti-ageing to reverse ageing technologies, and as some say (because nothing is too ridiculous an idea for the scientific mind), perhaps even immortality. Whether the goal is to live forever or to enhance the quality of life, this fascinating study opens new avenues for research and a plethora of possibilities for its application to human health.

Dr Shai Efrati, an Israeli physician, along with Dr Amir Hadanny, Yafit Hachmo and their team of scientists amassed from the Shamir medical centre and Tel Aviv University conducted a series of experiments using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). HBOT is no modern development; its first documented use was in 1662, back when oxygen wasn’t even discovered! It has been used for a long while now, mostly to treat ‘bends’ and other diving-related complications but who knew that the daily peaceful nap in an oxygen-rich air-tight chamber could have regenerative effects?

Relative changes in oxygen concentration, rather than absolute comparisons to normoxia can be interpreted as 'hyperoxic' and 'hypoxic' by our endothelial cells, thereby upregulating HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible factor 1) transcriptional effects. Our tissues perceive an oxygen deficit, triggering certain metabolic and regenerative processes, including stem cell generation and angiogenesis that do not occur so rapidly otherwise. Later labelled as the 'hyperoxic-hypoxic paradox', this phenomenon inspired many researchers to explore the advantages of inducing hypoxia-like conditions.

On November 18, 2020, the journal ‘Aging’ published a research paper by the TAU and Shamir Medical centre team describing their prospective cohort study. They assessed the effects of daily HBOT exposure on telomere length and senescence of peripheral blood nuclear cells (PBMCs) in a healthy, ageing adult population. Whole blood samples from 35 adults of ages 64 and above were collected at baseline, at the 30th and 60th session (the final session) and 1-2 weeks before the last HBOT exposure.

In a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, as the name suggests, nearly 100% pure oxygen is inhaled under increased pressure (about 2-3 ATA). In their trial, the oxygen concentration was adjusted such that it peaked intermittently. They detected a decrease in the number of senescent cells (SnCs) by 11-17%, and a striking 20% increase in the telomere lengths of T-helper, T-cytotoxic, natural killer cells and B-lymphocytes. Their hyperbaric oxygen therapy, spanning 60 sessions over 90 days, brought about an appreciable increase in telomere length and induced senolytic effects for clearing SnCs.

Longer telomeres are typically associated with longer lifespans. Most people today strive to attain a good ‘health span’ rather than longevity. As humans age, the accumulation of SnCs and the shortening of telomeres put a damper on one's hopes of prolonged youth. Fortunately for us, this new research has already been put to practical use.

HBOT has been demonstrated to induce neuroplasticity in various anoxic and traumatic brain injuries, pain syndromes and age-related disorders by boosting metabolism and blood flow in the brain. Omnipotent stem cells are generated in patients after these sessions, that travel along the bloodstream, looking for damaged areas in the body that they can surround and revive. Motor and cognitive abilities that had been lost in many adults have been successfully restored on account of HBOT.

In the words of Professor Efrati, “Today telomere shortening is considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of the Biology of ageing. Researchers around the world are trying to develop pharmacological and environmental interventions that enable telomere elongation. Our HBOT protocol was able to achieve this, proving that the ageing process can, in fact, be reversed at the basic cellular-molecular level.”