How is HBOT at the Institute for Healthy Aging Unique?

When treating all medical conditions listed above, except for cancer, we use a technique that employs the “hyperoxic-hypoxic paradox,” or in this case, “hyperoxic-normoxic paradox.” This technique has been developed and evaluated by Dr. Shai Efrati and The Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Research in the Shamir (previously Assaf-Harofeh) Medical Center in Israel, currently the largest center of its kind in the world. With this technique, while in the HBO chamber, the individual takes off the oxygen mask every 20 minutes for a 5 min break from hyperbaric oxygen. The decrease from a hyperoxic level to a normoxic level has been shown to act paradoxically because the cells respond to it as they would respond to a hypoxic state, even though hypoxia is not occurring. This allows ongoing benefits to include:

• Increasing hypoxia-induced factor 1 alpha (HIF-1)
• Modulating matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) activity which plays a significant role in inflammation
• Increases release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
• Induce stem cell proliferation
• augment circulating levels of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and angiogenesis factors, as well as induce angiogenesis and improved blood flow in the ischemic area
• Decrease the inflammatory response in endothelial cells mediated by TNF-alpha, and thus, promote vascular recovery.

Please see this PowerPoint presentation.

When treating patients with Cancer, we do NOT employ the hyperoxic-normoxic paradox.” In this case, we keep the patients in a hyperoxic state for the duration of treatment, without normoxic breaks. The reason we treat cancer patients differently, is that sustained hyperbaric oxygen turns off VEGF, as opposed to the technique employed with non-cancer patients, which causes ongoing release of VEGF. VEGF plays an important role in angiogenesis for cancer progression. This important caveat is lost on most healthcare practitioners who treat medical disorders.