A new ageing for ageing?
30th July 2020
Written by Olivia Fretwell.
In 2018, I wrote my A level Extended Project Qualification on prolonging life and the elderly. My key question was “where will it all end?” I considered several different perspectives on the extension of someone’s physical life as they aged, however this was leading to issues related to their cognition and mental capacity not “keeping up”. Living longer has impacted the quality of life for many who are contracting cognitive-related diseases such as dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease, whilst having knock-on implications for families and health systems. It made me reflect on the implications of extending the length of life but not of quality of life. This new study instantly reminded me of, and caused me to reflect upon, my previous work.
Patients at David Grant Medical Center relax prior to a dive in the hospital’s hyperbaric chamber. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Ken Wright)
As we age and as our life expectancy increases, we worry more about how ageing will affect our appearance, our physical capabilities, our health, our social life and our cognitive functioning. Many people try to delay the outward signs of the ageing process and its consequences through numerous methods such as anti-ageing creams/ drugs, exercise and crosswords, but what if ageing and its consequences weren’t as bad as feared?
One recent breakthrough study has revealed a potential treatment to prevent or delay cognitive decline including within the elderly population. The treatment in question is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and involves breathing in pure oxygen in a pressurised chamber. This increases the amount of oxygen in a person’s body and enhances their tissue function, influencing and improving processes such as healing and the ability to fight infection. This type of therapy has previously been used to treat stroke patients and those with traumatic or anoxic brain injury, as well as many other conditions. However, could the effects of HBOT be replicated and found to be consistent in healthy adults with no brain injuries. Could the implications of this therapy help delay neurodegenerative brain disease, and potentially prevent such cognitive decline from even occurring?
A total of 63 participants took part in the treatment (33 control, 30 HBOT treatment), and were exposed for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 months. By the end of the 3 months, improvements to their overall cognitive performance were found, especially in the areas of attention, speed of information processing, executive function and global cognitive function. Through this treatment a participant’s ability to regenerate red blood cells and blood vessels is increased, which in turn improves cerebral blood flow (meaning red blood cells are able to carry more oxygen to areas of the brain that are underserved as we age). So far, the effects of the treatment have been maintained for 6 months, but longer-term implications are unknown for the moment. Only time and continual monitoring will confirm if this treatment is effective and remains beneficial across a much larger time scale. The science is in the very early stages, and some studies cast doubt on the potential of HBOT. For example, in 2001 a 58-year old woman with Alzheimer’s received this treatment and experienced improvements including increased energy, memory and concentration, sleep, ability to perform daily activities and conversation. However, after two months the patient was experiencing previous symptoms and consequently had to have more treatment. Nevertheless, these are still positive findings, as the patient’s symptoms were maintained and showed improvement over a period of 22 months.
Are neuro cognitive diseases of the elderly simply inevitable and incurable, whether we try new treatments and therapies or not? Or should it be recognised that dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease is one of the great scourges of our time and should be treated accordingly.
So, if HBOT works long-term, what comes next? We have improved our physical functioning and now (hopefully) our cognitive functioning into our older years, but it still doesn’t necessarily completely improve our quality of life, as there is still no cure for diseases that cause the same cognitive difficulties, those of which are found to be improved in healthy patients. Really how long can humans live for? A strong case can be made that the more we prolong life and increase life expectancy, we make the process of dying “worse” for ourselves, as we delay the natural and inevitable process of dying. However, that being said, I do think this treatment is a significant step in the right direction, and provides much hope, if the cognitive benefits can be sustained and kept ‘in line’ with our physical selves into the long-term as we age. We cannot stop science and medicine from developing, therefore we must perhaps try to accept and find positives within the negativity. People won’t fear ageing as they once did and our quality of life as we age will potentially improve too; 70 will be the new 17.
References:
- Amir, H., Malka, D., Gil, S., Rahav, B., Merav, C., & Kobi, D. et al. (2020). Cognitive enhancement of healthy older adults using hyperbaric oxygen: a randomized controlled trial. Aging, 12(13), 13740-13761. doi: 10.18632/aging.103571
- Harch, P., & Fogarty, E. (2018). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Alzheimer’s dementia with positron emission tomography imaging: A case report. Medical Gas Research, 8(4), 181. doi: 10.4103/2045-9912.248271
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. (2020). Retrieved 28 July 2020, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190124124742.htm
- New Hyperbaric Therapy Could Limit and Perhaps Reverse Cognitive Decline. (2020). Retrieved 28 July 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-digital-self/202007/new-hyperbaric-therapy-could-limit-and-perhaps-reverse-cognitive
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy – Mayo Clinic. (2020). Retrieved 28 July 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/about/pac-20394380