Case Studies
Gemma, 38, was referred to me by her GP
Gemma was head of Human Resources in a large Hotel Company- a very exciting job she loved but which was tremendously demanding. She was suffering from dangerously high blood pressure. Her Doctor was prescribing her the highest strength hypertension medication as well as beta blockers for anxiety. The condition had been ongoing for eight years. Her condition became even more acute after a distressing and stressful management reorganisation. In short, the pressure of work had caused her to lose contact with herself and her own well being.
From the very first session, Gemma started to learn to breathe correctly. She saw the connection between her breathing and the illness she was creating, by touching the roots and not just the symptoms. Over the next few weeks her situation changed dramatically. With gentle counselling her anxiety abated. At that time, I was working closely with her GP and we decided to gradually reduce her medications to the lowest level.
Carla, from Indochina was in her late 40's, and had been taking anti-depressants and sleeping pills for several years.
After listening to Carla, it became clear that one of the main reasons her suffering was prolonged, unresolved grief following the death of her husband. Her grief turned into loneliness and was made worse by family disputes and the fact she had no one to talk to and share what was in her heart. Although very reluctant and sceptical, she learned breath work and continued the exercises at home.
In a matter of weeks she started to feel so much better that she felt able to reduce her pills and after some time, stop them altogether.
Jack, a Londoner in his mid-60's, was a chauffeur whose job involved being called out at irregular hours of the day and night.
Jack never managed to get enough sleep and was suffering from exhaustion and anxiety. He had to take sleeping pills as the patterns of his sleep were constantly disturbed. At his very first consultation he listened very carefully and took his first in-breath, followed by an exhalation. At this point, tears of emotional release ran down his face. "I cannot believe I've got this far in life without taking a real breath!" That was the beginning of his path to restoration of health. He came back from a holiday in the country, having enjoyed sound sleep for the first time in years. He continued the conscious breathing practice and it sustained Jack through continuing stressful situations while he made changes towards a more harmonious, less demanding, lifestyle.
James, in his early 40's, had chest pains so agonising that he had been to hospital A&E five times with a suspected heart problem.
Doctors could find nothing wrong but on seeing him for the first time, I noticed as he walked into the room that his body leaned to one side. His face was contorted and his eyes partly closed. He could not bear to be touched because he was in acute pain. He was literally "knotted up" to the point of being practically disabled. It transpired that his torso was in severe spasm due to excessive pressures at work and in his family life. For example, it appeared that the way he was sitting in front of his computer and holding the telephone, were directly affecting his well being. He made ergonomic changes to his office desk, chair, computer before finally, also buying a new bed and pillows.
As he began to relax, James fully embraced the breathing exercises. All this allowed him to experience a new state of relaxation and then integrate this activity into his everyday life. By re-learning to breathe - in and out fully, he released the tension and untied the knots for himself.
I taught James how to listen to his illness. By doing so he found out what was wrong so that he was able to put it right before it could become more serious. As his counsellor, I facilitated and guided this healing process by instruction and close and deep listening.
Case Studies
Gemma, 38, was referred to me by her GP
Gemma was head of Human Resources in a large Hotel Company- a very exciting job she loved but which was tremendously demanding. She was suffering from dangerously high blood pressure. Her Doctor was prescribing her the highest strength hypertension medication as well as beta blockers for anxiety. The condition had been ongoing for eight years. Her condition became even more acute after a distressing and stressful management reorganisation. In short, the pressure of work had caused her to lose contact with herself and her own well being.
From the very first session, Gemma started to learn to breathe correctly. She saw the connection between her breathing and the illness she was creating, by touching the roots and not just the symptoms. Over the next few weeks her situation changed dramatically. With gentle counselling her anxiety abated. At that time, I was working closely with her GP and we decided to gradually reduce her medications to the lowest level.
Carla, from Indochina was in her late 40's, and had been taking anti-depressants and sleeping pills for several years.
After listening to Carla, it became clear that one of the main reasons her suffering was prolonged, unresolved grief following the death of her husband. Her grief turned into loneliness and was made worse by family disputes and the fact she had no one to talk to and share what was in her heart. Although very reluctant and sceptical, she learned breath work and continued the exercises at home.
In a matter of weeks she started to feel so much better that she felt able to reduce her pills and after some time, stop them altogether.
Jack, a Londoner in his mid-60's, was a chauffeur whose job involved being called out at irregular hours of the day and night.
Jack never managed to get enough sleep and was suffering from exhaustion and anxiety. He had to take sleeping pills as the patterns of his sleep were constantly disturbed. At his very first consultation he listened very carefully and took his first in-breath, followed by an exhalation. At this point, tears of emotional release ran down his face. "I cannot believe I've got this far in life without taking a real breath!" That was the beginning of his path to restoration of health. He came back from a holiday in the country, having enjoyed sound sleep for the first time in years. He continued the conscious breathing practice and it sustained Jack through continuing stressful situations while he made changes towards a more harmonious, less demanding, lifestyle.
James, in his early 40's, had chest pains so agonising that he had been to hospital A&E five times with a suspected heart problem.
Doctors could find nothing wrong but on seeing him for the first time, I noticed as he walked into the room that his body leaned to one side. His face was contorted and his eyes partly closed. He could not bear to be touched because he was in acute pain. He was literally "knotted up" to the point of being practically disabled. It transpired that his torso was in severe spasm due to excessive pressures at work and in his family life. For example, it appeared that the way he was sitting in front of his computer and holding the telephone, were directly affecting his well being. He made ergonomic changes to his office desk, chair, computer before finally, also buying a new bed and pillows.
As he began to relax, James fully embraced the breathing exercises. All this allowed him to experience a new state of relaxation and then integrate this activity into his everyday life. By re-learning to breathe - in and out fully, he released the tension and untied the knots for himself.
I taught James how to listen to his illness. By doing so he found out what was wrong so that he was able to put it right before it could become more serious. As his counsellor, I facilitated and guided this healing process by instruction and close and deep listening.
What my NHS Colleagues say:
‘Norman has been working within my NHS General Medical Practice...
offering Holistic therapy’.
"During that time he has accepted referrals from four medical practitioners, three nurses and our counsellor, for a wide range of physical and emotional disorders.
"Significant clinical improvement has occurred in the majority of cases..."
"Treatments have been popular with patients and members of staff..."
"Clinical conditions treated have included anxiety and affective disorders, hypertension, asthma and chronic musculoskeletal pain"
Dr. Ruth O 'Hare MA MRCP D BCH
'I consulted with him some months ago suffering from shock and deep trauma, which under general medical practice would have been treated with anti-depressant drugs’.
"Having chosen to take the alternative drug-less programme being offered by Mr Taylor, I am now in better health, feeling restored through his teachings and his sharing and caring attitude".
"Mr Taylor's knowledge of the human condition on many levels and spiritually has been an inspiration and an invaluable aid to my own healing process".
Lady Ann Lucas
‘One of Norman's greatest gifts is that he is what I can only describe as an instinctive nurse within the true meaning of that word -to nourish'.
"He has an intuitive feel and ability for looking after those in need of such nourishing care, helping them not only in physical ways - with a natural delicacy and sureness of touch - but to engage in the inner process of coming to terms with the great questions of life and death".
Jane Mayers, MA (Edin) MA Dev. Psych(Sussex)
Independent Analytical Psychotherapist
Case Studies
Gemma, 38, was referred to me by her GP
Gemma was head of Human Resources in a large Hotel Company- a very exciting job she loved but which was tremendously demanding. She was suffering from dangerously high blood pressure. Her Doctor was prescribing her the highest strength hypertension medication as well as beta blockers for anxiety. The condition had been ongoing for eight years. Her condition became even more acute after a distressing and stressful management reorganisation. In short, the pressure of work had caused her to lose contact with herself and her own well being.
From the very first session, Gemma started to learn to breathe correctly. She saw the connection between her breathing and the illness she was creating, by touching the roots and not just the symptoms. Over the next few weeks her situation changed dramatically. With gentle counselling her anxiety abated. At that time, I was working closely with her GP and we decided to gradually reduce her medications to the lowest level.
Carla, from Indochina was in her late 40's, and had been taking anti-depressants and sleeping pills for several years.
After listening to Carla, it became clear that one of the main reasons her suffering was prolonged, unresolved grief following the death of her husband. Her grief turned into loneliness and was made worse by family disputes and the fact she had no one to talk to and share what was in her heart. Although very reluctant and sceptical, she learned breath work and continued the exercises at home.
In a matter of weeks she started to feel so much better that she felt able to reduce her pills and after some time, stop them altogether.
Jack, a Londoner in his mid-60's, was a chauffeur whose job involved being called out at irregular hours of the day and night.
Jack never managed to get enough sleep and was suffering from exhaustion and anxiety. He had to take sleeping pills as the patterns of his sleep were constantly disturbed. At his very first consultation he listened very carefully and took his first in-breath, followed by an exhalation. At this point, tears of emotional release ran down his face. "I cannot believe I've got this far in life without taking a real breath!" That was the beginning of his path to restoration of health. He came back from a holiday in the country, having enjoyed sound sleep for the first time in years. He continued the conscious breathing practice and it sustained Jack through continuing stressful situations while he made changes towards a more harmonious, less demanding, lifestyle.
James, in his early 40's, had chest pains so agonising that he had been to hospital A&E five times with a suspected heart problem.
Doctors could find nothing wrong but on seeing him for the first time, I noticed as he walked into the room that his body leaned to one side. His face was contorted and his eyes partly closed. He could not bear to be touched because he was in acute pain. He was literally "knotted up" to the point of being practically disabled. It transpired that his torso was in severe spasm due to excessive pressures at work and in his family life. For example, it appeared that the way he was sitting in front of his computer and holding the telephone, were directly affecting his well being. He made ergonomic changes to his office desk, chair, computer before finally, also buying a new bed and pillows.
As he began to relax, James fully embraced the breathing exercises. All this allowed him to experience a new state of relaxation and then integrate this activity into his everyday life. By re-learning to breathe - in and out fully, he released the tension and untied the knots for himself.
I taught James how to listen to his illness. By doing so he found out what was wrong so that he was able to put it right before it could become more serious. As his counsellor, I facilitated and guided this healing process by instruction and close and deep listening.
What my NHS Colleagues say:
What my NHS Colleagues say:
‘Norman has been working within my NHS General Medical Practice...
offering Holistic therapy’.
"During that time he has accepted referrals from four medical practitioners, three nurses and our counsellor, for a wide range of physical and emotional disorders.
"Significant clinical improvement has occurred in the majority of cases..."
"Treatments have been popular with patients and members of staff..."
"Clinical conditions treated have included anxiety and affective disorders, hypertension, asthma and chronic musculoskeletal pain"
Dr. Ruth O 'Hare MA MRCP D BCH
'I consulted with him some months ago suffering from shock and deep trauma, which under general medical practice would have been treated with anti-depressant drugs’.
"Having chosen to take the alternative drug-less programme being offered by Mr Taylor, I am now in better health, feeling restored through his teachings and his sharing and caring attitude".
"Mr Taylor's knowledge of the human condition on many levels and spiritually has been an inspiration and an invaluable aid to my own healing process".
Lady Ann Lucas
‘One of Norman's greatest gifts is that he is what I can only describe as an instinctive nurse within the true meaning of that word -to nourish'.
"He has an intuitive feel and ability for looking after those in need of such nourishing care, helping them not only in physical ways - with a natural delicacy and sureness of touch - but to engage in the inner process of coming to terms with the great questions of life and death".
Jane Mayers, MA (Edin) MA Dev. Psych. (Sussex)
Independent Analytical Psychotherapist
‘Norman has been working within my NHS General Medical Practice...
offering Holistic therapy’.
"During that time he has accepted referrals from four medical practitioners, three nurses and our counsellor, for a wide range of physical and emotional disorders.
"Significant clinical improvement has occurred in the majority of cases..."
"Treatments have been popular with patients and members of staff..."
"Clinical conditions treated have included anxiety and affective disorders, hypertension, asthma and chronic musculoskeletal pain"
Dr. Ruth O 'Hare MA MRCP D BCH
'I consulted with him some months ago suffering from shock and deep trauma, which under general medical practice would have been treated with anti-depressant drugs’.
"Having chosen to take the alternative drug-less programme being offered by Mr Taylor, I am now in better health, feeling restored through his teachings and his sharing and caring attitude".
"Mr Taylor's knowledge of the human condition on many levels and spiritually has been an inspiration and an invaluable aid to my own healing process".
Lady Ann Lucas
‘One of Norman's greatest gifts is that he is what I can only describe as an instinctive nurse within the true meaning of that word -to nourish'.
"He has an intuitive feel and ability for looking after those in need of such nourishing care, helping them not only in physical ways - with a natural delicacy and sureness of touch - but to engage in the inner process of coming to terms with the great questions of life and death".
Jane Mayers, MA (Edin) MA Dev. Psych. (Sussex)
Independent Analytical Psychotherapist
The Press
The Press
The Press
Stanford Projecton Adaptation
and Resilience in kids
Friday 10 September 2021
|
Stanford Education
Deep breathing for children by SPARK Lab at Stanford University (full)
This animated video shows young children how to slowly inhale by pretending to smell a flower and to exhale by pretending to blow out a candle. The video was developed for a study by the Stanford Project on Adaptation and Resilience in Kids (SPARK Lab) at Stanford University.
Research Mission
Taking a few deep breaths significantly reduces children's physiological arousal in everyday settings: Results of a preregistered video intervention
The Stanford Project on Adaptation and Resilience in Kids — the SPARK Lab — seeks to understand how adversity influences children's adaptation across various domains of functioning, ranging from school engagement and academic competence to positive peer relationships and prosocial behaviors. We strive to identify the biological, behavioral, and environmental processes that enable some disadvantaged children to demonstrate remarkable resilience, while placing others at risk for maladaptive outcomes, such as symptoms of anxiety and depression or disruptive behaviors.
We study how the interplay between children's biological sensitivity and the quality of the environments in which they grow and learn shapes children's health and well-being. In addition, we study how self-regulatory skills help children cope with daily challenges by enabling them to control their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Our work aims to identify how families and teachers can help children with differing biological reactivity profiles and self-regulatory capacities succeed over time.
Our research has important implications for children who come from diverse family, socio-economic, and ethnic backgrounds. We hope to apply our research findings to the design and implementation of prevention and intervention programs aimed at improving children's lives.
“Take a deep breath” is often the first guidance offered by parents and teachers to an upset child. To understand the effects of deep breathing on elementary school-aged children’s physiology, we created a short, animated video that introduces the benefits of breathing in the context of learning challenges and visually scaffolds children while they take four slow-paced breaths. In this field experiment, we tested whether the deep breathing video reduced physiological arousal relative to a control video in everyday settings that included summer camps, a children's museum, and a public playground. The short deep breathing video successfully reduced heart rate, an effect that was mediated by parasympathetic nervous system activity. It may not be effective to simply ask a young child to take a deep breath, and our video scaffolds children's efforts in learning how to breath slowly. We are making the videos available to families and teachers at no cost.
Free shipping
For orders over $100
Money Back
100% refund guaranteed
Support 24/7
(555) 555-5555
This animated video shows young children how to slowly inhale by pretending to smell a flower and to exhale by pretending to blow out a candle. The video was developed for a study by the Stanford Project on Adaptation and Resilience in Kids (SPARK Lab) at Stanford University.
Being deprived of air can help the healing process
Although cells and organs die without enough oxygen, sometimes being deprived of air can help the healing process. The state of the art hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber was developed by Florida based Aviv Clinics. The HBOT suite was designed to resemble a private jet, and can fit multiple patients. Once inside, they breathe 100 per cent pure oxygen while the air in the suite is pressurized to above atmospheric levels. As patients breathe in the oxygen, the bloodstream sends it to tissue in the body that has been deprived of it. Oxygen saturated blood can bypass blood vessels which have become clogged or narrowed with age. This gives the brain the energy it needs to improve the healing process. The pressure change allows more oxygen to be dissolved into the tissues and mimics a state of "hypoxia, or oxygen shortage, which is known to have regenerating effects .
Patients can use the chambers for 90 minutes, five times a week for three months.
The technique could also be useful for other conditions.
In 2020, the same team showed that hyperbaric therapy can reverse the ageing process, lengthening telomeres - the protective carps at the end of chromosomes - by 20 per cent.
It also cut senescent- or dormant - cells by up to 37 per cent, making way for new healthy cells to regrow.
Patients undergoing therapy have reported improved physical abilities such as having more energy, stamina and sexual performance, in men.
There is a drawback. Few hospitals are able to offer hyperbaric treatment and the current therapy comes with a gruelling timetable of sessions.
“The treatment would have to be continued indefinitely, so patients would have to be motivated and have good transport links to the treatment facility,” Prof Tom Dening, aty the University of Nottingham.
“If we consider that the number of people with dementia in the UK is approaching one million, it is hard to see how hyperbaric Oxygen could ever be available on this scale,”
But it does open a new avenue for treating the disease. Oxygen delivering drugs are already in development for heart conditions, “The paper presents an intereating approach, in particular reminding us of the importance of vascular factors in the development not only of vascular dementia but Alzheimer’s too,” added Prof Dening.
Alzheimer’s charities said that further large trials were needed to determine whether the treatment is effective but that therapies that prevent dementia in the first place may end up being the most useful.
‘Elderly patients with significant memory loss at baseline revealed an increase in blood flow and improvement in cognitive performance’
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, at Alzheimer’s Resaerch UK, said: “Many of the Alzheimer’s treatments currently being tested are drugs that target the hallmark disease proteins directly, but it’s important we maintain a broad spectrum of potential approaches”.
”Larger scale clinical trials with more people are needed to ascertain whether this treatment is effective, particularly when measuring longer term benefits to memory and thinking.
“The diseases that cause dementia begin in the brain many years before symptoms like memory loss show and it’s likely for treatments to be effective at slowing down the diseases that cause dementia, they will need to be given earlier rather than later.
The Israeli study is part of a larger research program looking to reverse ageing and its accompanying ailments and the team say that further trials will take place shortly.
For now, the research is a tantalising glimpse that hope may be on the horizon for the treatmentof Alzheimer’s and that it may come from the most unlikely source. The air that we breathe.
News
Friday 10 September 2021
|
The Daily Telegraph
Special Report
By
Sarah Knapton
Science Editor
Cure for Dementia could be in the air we Breathe
Scientists have sought a drug but the answer could be boosting oxygen flow to the brain study finds’
Being deprived of air can help the healing process
Although cells and organs die without enough oxygen, sometimes being deprived of air can help the healing process. The state of the art hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber was developed by Florida based Aviv Clinics. The HBOT suite was designed to resemble a private jet, and can fit multiple patients. Once inside, they breathe 100 per cent pure oxygen while the air in the suite is pressurized to above atmospheric levels. As patients breathe in the oxygen, the bloodstream sends it to tissue in the body that has been deprived of it. Oxygen saturated blood can bypass blood vessels which have become clogged or narrowed with age. This gives the brain the energy it needs to improve the healing process. The pressure change allows more oxygen to be dissolved into the tissues and mimics a state of "hypoxia, or oxygen shortage, which is known to have regenerating effects .
Patients can use the chambers for 90 minutes, five times a week for three months.
The technique could also be useful for other conditions.
For decades scientists have struggled to find a drug to prevent or reverse Dementia, coming up with ever-more complex molecules to try to dampen the devastating impacts.
Yet the answer may be simpler than anyone thought - oxygen. A study has shown that placing patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in a hyperbaric chamber boosts blood flow in the brain, flooding vessels with oxygen and improving memory attention and processing speed. Many people diagnosed with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer’s so it may be the first treatment that could prevent such a decline.
A therapy that could stop the disease has never been more needed. There are 850,000 people living with dementia in Britain, and the figure is expected to rise to a million by 2025.
Although the first drug for Alzheimer’s - aducanumbab - was approved by the US this year, there are fears it will not live up to expectations outside clinical trials.
In contrast to a drug, hyperbaric therapy works by giving oxygen through a mask while inside a pressurised chamber. It is a high pressure environment like that used to help divers recover from the bends.
The pressure change allows more oxygen to be dissolved into the tissue and mimics a state of ‘hypoxia’, or oxygen shortage, which is known to have regenerating effects.
Reduced blood flow to the brain, and the decrease in oxygen that it brings, precedes the onset of dementia and the level of flow correlates with the degree of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s. So it makes sense to think that improving blood flow might also improve the condition.
In the study, six elderly patients were given oxygen inside a chamber for 90 minutes, five days a week over three months. The blood flow in the brain increased by 16 to 23 per cent.
At the same time, memory test scores improved by 16.5 per cent, attention by six per cent and information processing speed was boosted by 10.3 per cent.
Researchers believe that treatment not only improves levels of oxygen in the brain, but actually changes the structure of blood vessels, increasing their width and reducing wall thickness. It suggests that the beneficial effects continue some time after therapy.
Although the chamber has not yet been been tested on patients with Alzheimer’s, when scientists tried it on mice with Alzheimer’s it reduced the number of amyloid plaques by up to 30 per cent, shrank remaining plaques by 18 per cent, and prevented the reemergence of new ones.
The sticky plaques are believed to prevent brain cells communicating and are one of the major targets in drugs for Alzheimer’s.
The mice even started building better nests after the treatment, and navigated mazes more proficiently.
Prof Uri Ashery, at Tel Aviv University, said: “We have discovered that hyperbaric oxygen therapy induces degradation and clearance of pre-existing amyloid plaques and the appearance of newly formed plaques.
”Elderly patients suffering from significant memory loss at baseline revealed an increase in brain blood flow and improvement in cognitive performance, demonstrating hyperbaric oxygen therapy potency to reverse core elements responsible for the development of Alzheimer’s”.
‘Vascular factors are important in development of vascular dementia and of Alzheimer’s too’
In 2020, the same team showed that hyperbaric therapy can reverse the ageing process, lengthening telomeres - the protective carps at the end of chromosomes - by 20 per cent.
It also cut senescent- or dormant - cells by up to 37 per cent, making way for new healthy cells to regrow.
Patients undergoing therapy have reported improved physical abilities such as having more energy, stamina and sexual performance, in men.
There is a drawback. Few hospitals are able to offer hyperbaric treatment and the current therapy comes with a gruelling timetable of sessions.
“The treatment would have to be continued indefinitely, so patients would have to be motivated and have good transport links to the treatment facility,” Prof Tom Dening, At the University of Nottingham.
“If we consider that the number of people with dementia in the UK is approaching one million, it is hard to see how hyperbaric Oxygen could ever be available on this scale,”
But it does open a new avenue for treating the disease. Oxygen delivering drugs are already in development for heart conditions, “The paper presents an interesting approach, in particular reminding us of the importance of vascular factors in the development not only of vascular dementia but Alzheimer’s too,” added Prof Dening.
Alzheimer’s charities said that further large trials were needed to determine whether the treatment is effective but that therapies that prevent dementia in the first place may end up being the most useful.
‘Elderly patients with significant memory loss at baseline revealed an increase in blood flow and improvement in cognitive performance’
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Many of the Alzheimer’s treatments currently being tested are drugs that target the hallmark disease proteins directly, but it’s important we maintain a broad spectrum of potential approaches”.
”Larger scale clinical trials with more people are needed to ascertain whether this treatment is effective, particularly when measuring longer term benefits to memory and thinking.
“The diseases that cause dementia begin in the brain many years before symptoms like memory loss show and it’s likely for treatments to be effective at slowing down the diseases that cause dementia, they will need to be given earlier rather than later.
The Israeli study is part of a larger research program looking to reverse ageing and its accompanying ailments and the team say that further trials will take place shortly.
For now, the research is a tantalising glimpse that hope may be on the horizon for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and that it may come from the most unlikely source. The air that we breathe.
Cure for Dementia could be in the air we Breathe
Scientists have sought a drug but the answer could be boosting oxygen flow to the brain study finds’
Friday 10 September 2021 | The Daily Telegraph
Special Report by
Sarah Knapton
Science Editor
Being deprived of air can help the healing process
Although cells and organs die without enough oxygen, sometimes being deprived of air can help the healing process. The state of the art hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber was developed by Florida based Aviv Clinics. The HBOT suite was designed to resemble a private jet, and can fit multiple patients. Once inside, they breathe 100 per cent pure oxygen while the air in the suite is pressurized to above atmospheric levels. As patients breathe in the oxygen, the bloodstream sends it to tissue in the body that has been deprived of it. Oxygen saturated blood can bypass blood vessels which have become clogged or narrowed with age. This gives the brain the energy it needs to improve the healing process. The pressure change allows more oxygen to be dissolved into the tissues and mimics a state of "hypoxia, or oxygen shortage, which is known to have regenerating effects .
Patients can use the chambers for 90 minutes, five times a week for three months.
The technique could also be useful for other conditions.
For decades scientists have struggled to find a drug to prevent or reverse Dementia, coming up with ever-more complex molecules to try to dampen the devastating impacts.
Yet the answer may be simpler than anyone thought - oxygen. A study has shown that placing patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in a hyperbaric chamber boosts blood flow in the brain, flooding vessels with oxygen and improving memory attention and processing speed. Many people diagnosed with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer’s so it may be the first treatment that could prevent such a decline.
A therapy that could stop the disease has never been more needed. There are 850,000 people living with dementia in Britain, and the figure is expected to rise to a million by 2025.
Although the first drug for Alzheimer’s - aducanumbab - was approved by the US this year, there are fears it will not live up to expectations outside clinical trials.
In contrast to a drug, hyperbaric therapy works by giving oxygen through a mask while inside a pressurised chamber. It is a high pressure environment like that used to help divers recover from the bends.
The pressure change allows more oxygen to be dissolved into the tissue and mimics a state of ‘hypoxia’, or oxygen shortage, which is known to have regenerating effects.
Reduced blood flow to the brain, and the decrease in oxygen that it brings, precedes the onset of dementia and the level of flow correlates with the degree of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s. So it makes sense to think that improving blood flow might also improve the condition.
In the study, six elderly patients were given oxygen inside a chamber for 90 minutes, five days a week over three months. The blood flow in the brain increased by 16 to 23 per cent.
At the same time, memory test scores improved by 16.5 per cent, attention by six per cent and information processing speed was boosted by 10.3 per cent.
Researchers believe that treatment not only improves levels of oxygen in the brain, but actually changes the structure of blood vessels, increasing their width and reducing wall thickness. It suggests that the beneficial effects _____________________e time after th________.
Although the chamber has not yet been been tested on patients with Alzheimer’s, when scientists tried it on mice with Alzheimer’s it reduced the number of amyloid plaques by up to 30 per cent, shrank remaining plaques by 18 per cent, and prevented the reemergence of new ones.
The sticky plaques are believed to prevent brain cells communicating and are one of the major targets in drugs for Alzheimer’s.
The mice even started building better nests after the treatment, and navigated mazes more proficiently.
Prof Uri Ashery, at Tel Aviv University, said: “We have discovered that hyperbaric oxygen therapy induces degradation and clearance of pre-existing amyloid plaques and the appearance of newly formed plaques.
”Elderly patients suffering from significant memory loss at baseline revealed an increase in brain blood flow and improvement in cognitive performance, demonstrating hyperbaric oxygen therapy potency to reverse core elements responsible for the development of Alzheimer’s”.
‘Vascular factors are important in development of vascular dementia and of Alzheimer’s too’
In 2020, the same team showed that hyperbaric therapy can reverse the ageing process, lengthening telomeres - the protective carps at the end of chromosomes - by 20 per cent.
It also cut senescent- or dormant - cells by up to 37 per cent, making way for new healthy cells to regrow.
Patients undergoing therapy have reported improved physical abilities such as having more energy, stamina and sexual performance, in men.
There is a drawback. Few hospitals are able to offer hyperbaric treatment and the current therapy comes with a gruelling timetable of sessions.
“The treatment would have to be continued indefinitely, so patients would have to be motivated and have good transport links to the treatment facility,” Prof Tom Dening, aty the University of Nottingham.
“If we consider that the number of people with dementia in the UK is approaching one million, it is hard to see how hyperbaric Oxygen could ever be available on this scale,”
But it does open a new avenue for treating the disease. Oxygen delivering drugs are already in development for heart conditions, “The paper presents an intereating approach, in particular reminding us of the importance of vascular factors in the development not only of vascular dementia but Alzheimer’s too,” added Prof Dening.
Alzheimer’s charities said that further large trials were needed to determine whether the treatment is effective but that therapies that prevent dementia in the first place may end up being the most useful.
‘Elderly patients with significant memory loss at baseline revealed an increase in blood flow and improvement in cognitive performance’
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, at Alzheimer’s Resaerch UK, said: “Many of the Alzheimer’s treatments currently being tested are drugs that target the hallmark disease proteins directly, but it’s important we maintain a broad spectrum of potential approaches”.
”Larger scale clinical trials with more people are needed to ascertain whether this treatment is effective, particularly when measuring longer term benefits to memory and thinking.
“The diseases that cause dementia begin in the brain many years before symptoms like memory loss show and it’s likely for treatments to be effective at slowing down the diseases that cause dementia, they will need to be given earlier rather than later.
The Israeli study is part of a larger research program looking to reverse ageing and its accompanying ailments and the team say that further trials will take place shortly.
For now, the research is a tantalising glimpse that hope may be on the horizon for the treatmentof Alzheimer’s and that it may come from the most unlikely source. The air that we breathe.
Cure for Dementia could be in the air we Breathe
Scientists have sought a drug but the answer could be boosting oxygen flow to the brain study finds’
Friday 10 September 2021 | The Daily Telegraph
Special Report by
Sarah Knapton
Science Editor
Being deprived of air can help the healing process
Although cells and organs die without enough oxygen, sometimes being deprived of air can help the healing process. The state of the art hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber was developed by Florida based Aviv Clinics. The HBOT suite was designed to resemble a private jet, and can fit multiple patients. Once inside, they breathe 100 per cent pure oxygen while the air in the suite is pressurized to above atmospheric levels. As patients breathe in the oxygen, the bloodstream sends it to tissue in the body that has been deprived of it. Oxygen saturated blood can bypass blood vessels which have become clogged or narrowed with age. This gives the brain the energy it needs to improve the healing process. The pressure change allows more oxygen to be dissolved into the tissues and mimics a state of "hypoxia, or oxygen shortage, which is known to have regenerating effects .
Patients can use the chambers for 90 minutes, five times a week for three months.
The technique could also be useful for other conditions.
For decades scientists have struggled to find a drug to prevent or reverse Dementia, coming up with ever-more complex molecules to try to dampen the devastating impacts.
Yet the answer may be simpler than anyone thought - oxygen. A study has shown that placing patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in a hyperbaric chamber boosts blood flow in the brain, flooding vessels with oxygen and improving memory attention and processing speed. Many people diagnosed with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer’s so it may be the first treatment that could prevent such a decline.
A therapy that could stop the disease has never been more needed. There are 850,000 people living with dementia in Britain, and the figure is expected to rise to a million by 2025.
Although the first drug for Alzheimer’s - aducanumbab - was approved by the US this year, there are fears it will not live up to expectations outside clinical trials.
In contrast to a drug, hyperbaric therapy works by giving oxygen through a mask while inside a pressurised chamber. It is a high pressure environment like that used to help divers recover from the bends.
The pressure change allows more oxygen to be dissolved into the tissue and mimics a state of ‘hypoxia’, or oxygen shortage, which is known to have regenerating effects.
Reduced blood flow to the brain, and the decrease in oxygen that it brings, precedes the onset of dementia and the level of flow correlates with the degree of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s. So it makes sense to think that improving blood flow might also improve the condition.
In the study, six elderly patients were given oxygen inside a chamber for 90 minutes, five days a week over three months. The blood flow in the brain increased by 16 to 23 per cent.
At the same time, memory test scores improved by 16.5 per cent, attention by six per cent and information processing speed was boosted by 10.3 per cent.
Researchers believe that treatment not only improves levels of oxygen in the brain, but actually changes the structure of blood vessels, increasing their width and reducing wall thickness. It suggests that the beneficial effects _____________________e time after th________.
Although the chamber has not yet been been tested on patients with Alzheimer’s, when scientists tried it on mice with Alzheimer’s it reduced the number of amyloid plaques by up to 30 per cent, shrank remaining plaques by 18 per cent, and prevented the reemergence of new ones.
The sticky plaques are believed to prevent brain cells communicating and are one of the major targets in drugs for Alzheimer’s.
The mice even started building better nests after the treatment, and navigated mazes more proficiently.
Prof Uri Ashery, at Tel Aviv University, said: “We have discovered that hyperbaric oxygen therapy induces degradation and clearance of pre-existing amyloid plaques and the appearance of newly formed plaques.
”Elderly patients suffering from significant memory loss at baseline revealed an increase in brain blood flow and improvement in cognitive performance, demonstrating hyperbaric oxygen therapy potency to reverse core elements responsible for the development of Alzheimer’s”.
‘Vascular factors are important in development of vascular dementia and of Alzheimer’s too’
In 2020, the same team showed that hyperbaric therapy can reverse the ageing process, lengthening telomeres - the protective carps at the end of chromosomes - by 20 per cent.
It also cut senescent- or dormant - cells by up to 37 per cent, making way for new healthy cells to regrow.
Patients undergoing therapy have reported improved physical abilities such as having more energy, stamina and sexual performance, in men.
There is a drawback. Few hospitals are able to offer hyperbaric treatment and the current therapy comes with a gruelling timetable of sessions.
“The treatment would have to be continued indefinitely, so patients would have to be motivated and have good transport links to the treatment facility,” Prof Tom Dening, aty the University of Nottingham.
“If we consider that the number of people with dementia in the UK is approaching one million, it is hard to see how hyperbaric Oxygen could ever be available on this scale,”
But it does open a new avenue for treating the disease. Oxygen delivering drugs are already in development for heart conditions, “The paper presents an interesting approach, in particular reminding us of the importance of vascular factors in the development not only of vascular dementia but Alzheimer’s too,” added Prof Dening.
Alzheimer’s charities said that further large trials were needed to determine whether the treatment is effective but that therapies that prevent dementia in the first place may end up being the most useful.
‘Elderly patients with significant memory loss at baseline revealed an increase in blood flow and improvement in cognitive performance’
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, at Alzheimer’s Resaerch UK, said: “Many of the Alzheimer’s treatments currently being tested are drugs that target the hallmark disease proteins directly, but it’s important we maintain a broad spectrum of potential approaches”.
”Larger scale clinical trials with more people are needed to ascertain whether this treatment is effective, particularly when measuring longer term benefits to memory and thinking.
“The diseases that cause dementia begin in the brain many years before symptoms like memory loss show and it’s likely for treatments to be effective at slowing down the diseases that cause dementia, they will need to be given earlier rather than later.
The Israeli study is part of a larger research program looking to reverse ageing and its accompanying ailments and the team say that further trials will take place shortly.
For now, the research is a tantalising glimpse that hope may be on the horizon for the treatmentof Alzheimer’s and that it may come from the most unlikely source. The air that we breathe.
