Anti-Aging, More than a Myth?
Written by Minjae Yoo
Edited by Charan Karthik
May 2, 2021
Edited by Charan Karthik
May 2, 2021
In a world’s first clinical study, researchers at the Tel Aviv University and The Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Shamir Medical Center in Israel have demonstrated potential methods to reverse cellular aging in human patients.
Biologically, aging occurs at the level of cells and their DNA. When humans develop or sustain injuries, our cells proliferate as a means of growth or damage repair. Cell proliferation entails generating an exact replica of a cell, including all of its contents like DNA, through complex biological mechanisms. Nothing is ever perfect, however, and even such remarkably precise cellular processes have their flaws.
By design, the initial replication of each strand of DNA excludes a sequence of the end regions, known as the telomeres, resulting in the production of incomplete copies. Since an identical copy is required for proper cell functioning, an enzyme called telomerase then steps in to extend the previously unreplicated ends of the telomeres, completing the replication process. The issue arises from the fact that telomerase is not available to all cells in equal proportions at all times, despite replication being a necessary process for many cells in the body. The result is a gradual decrease in the length of one’s cells’ DNA, a phenomenon known as “telomere shortening”, which contributes to the senescence, or aging, of affected cells. Cell senescence is frequently associated with age-related diseases such as osteoarthritis, pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The new study revealed that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), a clinical treatment method that involves temporary but regular exposure to pure, high pressure oxygen, can potentially reverse the effects of telomere shortening and immune cell senescence. Due to its ability to increase the efficiency of oxygen delivery to the blood, HBOT is currently used to treat decompression sickness and anemia, as well as a variety of injuries involving tissue damage. Interestingly, the team at The Sagol Center and Tel Aviv University discovered that, after 60 daily HBOT exposures on healthy adults, considerable improvements were seen in both the average telomere length in DNA and percentage of senescent cells in major classes of patients’ cells, particularly immune cell populations. Most notably, telomere length in B cells saw a 37.63% increase on average, while helper T and cytotoxic T cell populations saw 37.3% and 10.96% decreases in senescent cell proportions, respectively.
The effects observed through the use of HBOT are far greater than any available clinical methods to counteract cellular senescence, the team claims. According to lead researcher Dr. Shai Efrati, “The significant improvement of telomere length shown during and after these unique HBOT protocols provides the scientific community with a new foundation of understanding that aging can, indeed, be targeted and reversed at the basic cellular-biological level". While the scale of the study itself was rather modest, it serves as another milestone in the ongoing research of treatments for common age-related diseases, and its potential implications in almost fictional-sounding “anti-aging” therapies are, without a doubt, exciting.
Image Source: "A picture of three hyperbaric chambers in Queens" by Hyperbaric Center of Queens licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0