Hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces vascular dysfunction and amyloid burden in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease and in elderly patients

DOI:https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.203485

Commentary

One of the most common forms of vascular dysfunction is Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is intertwined with aging and contributes to reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) and ultimately hypoxia.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for this has been used clinically.

In this study, 5XFAD mice, an AD model showing cognitive decline, were exposed to HBOT and treatment effects were investigated using two-photon live animal imaging, behavioral tasks, and biochemical and histological analysis.

Results showed that HBOT increased the luminal diameter of small arteries, elevated CBF, and contributed to a decrease in hypoxia. Furthermore, HBOT reduced the burden of amyloid by decreasing the amount of existing plaque and weakening the formation of new plaque.

This was associated with altered processing of the amyloid precursor protein, which was observed in increased degradation and clearance of the Aβ protein, as well as improved behavior in 5XFAD mice.

Therefore, as the findings are consistent with the effects of HBOT partially mediated by sustained structural changes in blood vessels that reduce hypoxia in the brain, we exposed elderly patients with significant baseline memory loss to HBOT and observed increased CBF and improved cognitive performance.

The results of this study indicate the efficacy of HBOT in hypoxia-related neurological conditions, particularly AD and aging.