A new study conducted by scientists in Israel may prove to be groundbreaking in the quest to slow down the aging process in humans.
According to the study, which appeared in the journal Aging, it was revealed that the researchers used oxygen treatments in hyperbaric chambers to stop blood cells from aging and make them grow younger. While in the hyperbaric chambers, they were able to counteract the shortening of telomeres, the protective regions at the ends of every chromosome, and the body's aggregation of old and poorly-functioning cells.
As humans get older, our cells continue to divide, thus shortening the telomeres. If they get too short, the cells stop replicating, becoming "senescent," and they eventually die. The study involved 35 healthy people over 64 years old, who underwent 60 hyperbaric sessions in 3 months. Researchers saw telomeres lengthen by 38%, and 37% decrease in senescent cells, bringing them to a cellular state that is similar to their bodies 25 years earlier.
Professor Shai Efrati from Tel Aviv University, who is also the Founder and Director of the Sagol Center of Hyperbaric Medicine at the Shamir Medical Center, led the study. He commented on the study, stating, "Today telomere shortening is considered the 'Holy Grail' of the biology of aging. Researchers around the world are trying to develop pharmacological and environmental interventions that enable telomere elongation. Our HBOT protocol was able to achieve this, proving that the aging process can in fact be reversed at the basic cellular-molecular level."
Source: theceomagazine.com
