JERUSALEM, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have found that innovative treatment in hyperbaric oxygen chamber improves cognitive function in healthy older adults, Tel Aviv University (TAU) said on Wednesday.
This finding is part of a unique study published in the journal Aging, conducted by researchers from TAU and Shamir Medical Center, both located in central Israel.
The study included 63 healthy people over the age of 64, with 33 of them treated in hyperbaric oxygen chamber over three months, and the other 30 served as a control group.
It was found that such treatment, of exposure to clean oxygen at high pressure, strengthened brain function and improved the cognitive capabilities of the adults tested.
The main areas in which there has been improvement are attention, information processing speed, executive functions and global cognitive function, all of which typically decline with age.
Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the cognitive changes and improved cerebral blood flow in specific brain locations.
The treatment has resulted in the regeneration of small blood vessels in the patients' brains, helping to deal with blood vessel occlusions which is a dominant element in the aging process.
"In our study, for the first time in humans, we have found an effective and safe medical intervention that can address this unwanted consequence of age-related deterioration," the researchers said. Enditem
