This means that we can begin to consider aging as a reversible disease.”

The Tel Aviv University associate professor said that in the near future, large numbers of people could enroll in the therapy he gave to his trial subjects: a course of sessions in a pressurized (or hyperbaric) chamber, breathing oxygen pure for a few weeks.

The Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, a nonprofit at Shamir Medical Center near Rishon Lezion, which he directs, offers his oxygen protocol to companies outside Israel.
At the Aviv Clinic near a Florida retirement home, which offers it as an answer to aging. Efrati is a medical advisor at the clinic.

Efrati reported that, in addition to lengthening telomeres, his therapy led to a decrease in senescent cells, whose population is believed to correlate with the onset of various diseases.
Efrati's new study was written after he recruited 35 people over the age of 64 and took blood samples. He then gave some of them a 60-day treatment, during which they spent time in a hyperbaric chamber, breathing pure oxygen for part of the time.
 

In a previous study published in July, he stated that the therapy improves cognitive function. In his latest research, he examined telomeres, which are like protective caps on the ends of chromosomes. They shorten with age and some studies indicate that their length can affect the rate of physical aging and the appearance of age-related diseases.

He excluded the results of nine of his participants from his telomere analysis, five because they did not meet the initial assessments and four because their blood samples were of poor quality. For the analysis of senescent cells he excluded 15 participants, five because they did not comply with the initial evaluations and 10 because their blood samples were of poor quality.

Among other study participants, there was an increase in telomere length, averaging more than 20 percent, and a reduction in senescent cells on a similar scale, Efrati reported.

"Researchers around the world are trying to develop pharmacological and environmental interventions that allow telomere lengthening," Efrati said. "Our hyperbaric oxygen therapy protocol was able to achieve this, demonstrating that the aging process can be reversed at the basic cellular-molecular level"

Now you can read the full paper of this great discovery,

 

 

 

 

Shorter white blood cell telomeres linked to higher dementia risk

by British Medical Journal

Human chromosomes (grey) capped by telomeres (white). Credit: PD-NASA; PD-USGOV-NASA
Shorter telomeres on the ends of white blood cell chromosomes may signal a heightened dementia risk, suggest the results of a large, long-term study published online in the journal General Psychiatry.

They are associated with smaller total and white matter brain volume, which helps the body process information, and may be a predictor of future brain health, say the researchers.

A telomere–the equivalent of a shoelace cap—is intended to prevent the loss of coded DNA by a chromosome fraying or unraveling when it replicates.

Each time a cell divides, chromosomes replicate, and telomeres shorten slightly, so telomeres have emerged as a promising marker for cellular aging and the risk of age-related diseases, note the researchers. But studies looking at telomere length and brain health are few and far between.

To explore this further, they drew on data from the UK Biobank to look at potential associations between the telomere length of leucocytes (white blood cells) and the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, and total and regional brain volumes.

The UK Biobank is a large biomedical database containing in-depth genetic and health information for around half a million people in the UK who were enrolled between 2006 and 2010.

Leucocyte telomere length was measured by analyzing blood samples taken at enrollment. These data were available for 439,961 people aged 37 to 73 at the time (average age 56).

During an average monitoring period of nearly 12 years, 1,551 (0.4%) participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; 767 (0.2%) with vascular dementia; and 5,820 (1.3%) with other type of dementia.

Analysis of the data revealed a significant association between leucocyte telomere length and subsequent risk of dementia.

After accounting for sex and age, participants with the shortest leucocyte telomeres were 14% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and 28% more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease than those with the longest leucocyte telomeres.

The risk of vascular dementia was also increased (18%), although this wasn't statistically significant.

Brain structure was visualized on MRI full body scans for 38,740 participants in 2014. This revealed a linear association between shorter leucocyte telomeres and smaller total brain volume, white matter, as well as brain structures including the hippocampus (involved in learning and memory), the thalamus (sensory processing center), and the nucleus accumbens (the pleasure center).

This is an observational study, and as such, can't establish cause. The researchers also highlight several limitations: telomere length was measured only once so it was impossible to find out whether changes over time might have affected the chances of dementia, added to which telomere length was measured only in leucocytes.

Measurement of telomere length in glial cells (non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system) might have been even more informative, they suggest, but these data weren't available from the UK Biobank.

And dementia diagnoses were obtained only from electronic health records, which may not have been up to date and may not have mentioned milder forms.

Nevertheless, the researchers conclude, "We found that leucocyte telomere length acts as an aging biomarker associated with the risk of dementia. Furthermore, we also observed linear associations of leucocyte telomere length with total and regional brain structure.

"These findings highlight telomere length as a potential biomarker of brain health."

More information: Zhi Cao et al, Leucocyte telomere length, brain volume and risk of dementia: a prospective cohort study, General Psychiatry (2023). DOI: 10.1136/gpsych-2023-101120

Provided by British Medical Journal
 

 

Reception Modem Space, modern design
white and blue colors in polycarbonate
with patient information

 

Telomere shortening—a sign of cellular aging—linked to signs of Alzheimer's in brain scans

 

Changes in the brain caused by Alzheimer's disease are associated with shortening of the telomeres—the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that shorten as cells age—according to a new study led by Anya Topiwala of Oxford Population Health, part of the University of Oxford, UK, published March 22 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Telomeres on chromosomes protect DNA from degrading, but every time a cell divides, the telomeres lose some of their length. Short telomeres are a sign of stress and cellular aging, and are also associated with a higher risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Currently, little is known about the links between telomere length and changes that occur in the brains of people with neurological conditions. Understanding those relationships could offer insights into the biological mechanisms that cause neurodegenerative disorders.

In the new study, researchers compared telomere length in white blood cells to results from brain MRIs and electronic health records from more than 31,000 participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing anonymized genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK participants.

The analysis revealed that patients with longer telomeres also tended to have better brain health. They had a larger volume of gray matter in their brains overall and a larger hippocampus, both of which shrink in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Longer telomeres were also associated with a thicker cerebral cortex—the outer, folded layer of gray matter—which thins as Alzheimer's disease progresses. The researchers speculate that longer telomeres might therefore help protect patients from developing dementia, though there was no association with stroke or Parkinson's disease.

Overall, the findings show that shorter telomeres can be linked to multiple changes in the brain associated with dementia. To date, this is the largest and richest study of the relationships between telomere length and MRI markers in the brain. The associations suggest that accelerated aging in the brain, as indicated by telomere length, could represent a biological pathway that leads to neurodegenerative disease.

The authors add, "We found associations between telomere length, a marker of biological aging, and multiple aspects of brain structure. This may explain why individuals with longer telomeres have a lower risk of dementia."

 

 

Reception Modem Space, modern design
white and blue colors in polycarbonate
with patient information

The spaces have been designed according to health standards and fully equipped. Regarding lighting, different levels of false ceiling and types of luminaires were used to differentiate the circulation areas and clinical environments. Likewise, in some spaces, warmer lighting was used to generate a more comfortable environment as in the rooms.
The clinic has vinyl, porcelain and other floors depending on the functional areas.

 

Hyperbaric Chamber Box, modern design
white and blue colors in polycarbonate
with patient information

The furniture and signage break the monotony of the light walls to give more life to the spaces.
The waiting environments are an important part of the proposal, because they leave aside the waiting of block chairs to generate much more integrated and visually open spaces, with armchairs forming small rooms.

Reception Modem Space, modern design
white and blue colors in polycarbonate
with patient information

 

 

Reception Modem Space, modern design
white and blue colors in polycarbonate
with patient information

 

The furniture and signage break the monotony of the light walls to give more life to the spaces. The waiting environments are an important part of the proposal, because they leave aside the waiting of b
The waiting environments are an important part of the proposal, because they leave aside the waiting of block chairs to generate much more integrated and visually open spaces, with armchairs forming small rooms.