What is it about?
This review presents the potential cardiovascular health benefits of brief exposures to atmospheres containing low amounts of oxygen, i.e. intermittent hypoxia, as a potential treatment for the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The dramatically increasing number of people at risk of Alzheimer's disease is a national medical and sociological emergency. There is no cure for this dread disease, and treatments to prevent or delay its progression are limited. Our research in animals with experimental Alzheimer's disease shows that training programs consisting of intermittent exposures to low oxygen (intermittent hypoxia training) can prevent degeneration of the brain's blood vessels, resulting in improved blood flow to the brain and preserved brain function, particularly memory function. The article also discusses the important differences between beneficial intermittent hypoxia training and the harmful effects of more severe hypoxia associated with the pathological condition, obstructive sleep apnea. The article also presents the beneficial effects of intermittent hypoxia training in brain disorders other than Alzheimer's disease.
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Why is it important?
Intermittent hypoxia training for Alzheimer's disease is important for two reasons. First, by preserving the structural integrity of the brain's arterioles and capillaries, intermittent hypoxia prevents impairment of brain blood flow and delivery of oxygen and nutrients, one of the main causes of Alzheimer's disease. Secondly, controlled breathing of low-oxygen gas is simple and non-invasive, and avoids the use of drug treatments, almost all of which have proven to be ineffective in clinical trials. Intermittent hypoxia has been used extensively in Eastern Europe for treatment of patients with chronic heart and lung diseases, and has proven to be both safe and effective. A goal of this article is to summarize this clinical work and bring it to the attention of physicians and scientists in the West.
Perspectives
Alzheimer's disease is a looming worldwide epidemic. Intermittent hypoxia training is a potentially powerful treatment for Alzheimer's disease, especially if it is undertaken early in the progression of the disease when interventions are most effective. The underlying mechanisms responsible for intermittent hypoxia's protective effects on brain and other organs are only now coming to light. Ongoing research shows that intermittent hypoxia activates the genetic machinery in brain cells, including neurons, supportive cells and the lining of the blood vessels. Activation of these genes by intermittent hypoxia triggers the production of proteins that protect the cells from damage and thereby slow brain degeneration. Intermittent hypoxia is especially effective in the brain because it overcomes the blood-brain barrier, an anatomical structure in the small blood vessels that severely restricts the passage of drug treatments from the bloodstream to the threatened brain cells. The rapid progress of intermittent hypoxia research, both in the laboratory and in the clinics, underscores its tremendous potential to slow or even delay Alzheimer's disease and improve quality of life of these patients and their loved ones.
Dr Robert T Mallet
Univ. North Texas Health Science Center
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Intermittent hypoxia training protects cerebrovascular function in Alzheimer's disease, Experimental Biology and Medicine, May 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1535370216649060.
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