Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments Increase Stem Cells Ability to Heal Injured Tissue and Organs
By now we know that stem cells are found in almost every tissue and organ in the human body. These stem cells play a critical part in our body's attempt to repair injured tissue and organ cells. When our body's cells are damaged, weather it is traumatic in nature (due to an outside force on the body) or ischemic (poor perfusion leading to a lack of oxygen) or due to inflammation, the injured cells send off chemical signals in our blood stream to tell our stem cells to come to that area and begin the healing process. When the stem cells reach the injured cells they are able to differentiate (become a more specialized cell type) and replace or assist the existing cells. The most abundant reservoir for stem cells in the human body is the bone marrow. The bone marrow is home to mesenchymal stem cells (MSC's) that have the ability to differentiate into many different types of cells. Dr. David A. Steenblock, at the Personalized Regenerative Medicine clinic in Mission Viejo, Ca, is a leader in bone marrow stem cell therapies to treat a wide range of ailments. The conditions that the clinic treats with bone marrow stem cells includes, but is not limited to, Stroke, TBI (traumatic brain injury), CHF (congestive heart failure), Cerebral Palsy, maculor degeneration, diabetes, Alzheimer's and Osteoarthritis, among a host of others.
Hyperbaric Oxygen's Role
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has been used for over a century to treat almost all types of injuries, such as stroke, Cerebral Palsy, gangrene, and non-healing wounds. Now, even more recent clinical and university studies have shown HBOT works wonders on our bodies ability to proliferate (produce) and mobilize (circulate) our mesenchymal stem cells. Oxygen works on our stem cells on a few different levels. HBOT mobilizes MSC's from our bone marrow by a nitric oxide (NO) dependent mechanism we call NO synthesis. Nitric oxide is a chemical our body produces that is used as a signaling molecule. It is highly reactive and diffuses freely across membranes, making it an ideal substance for communication between adjacent cells, and within a single cell. Studies have shown that one of the major difficulties to stem cell therapy to repair ischemic damage is the low survival rate of transplanted cells due to poor oxygenation. Ischemic tissue cells send off a chemical signal to the body asking for stem cells to be released form the bone marrow to help repair damaged areas. Once the MSC's get to where they are directed to go, they differentiate into more specialized cells and begin to heal damaged cells. HBOT aids this process not only by increasing the number of MSC's deployed, but also by delivering the oxygen needed to facilitate and sustain cell repair. HBOT also assists our stem cells by inducing placental growth factors (PIGF) in our MSC's. PIGF is a key molecule in angiogenesis, which is the growth of new blood vessels from existing ones, and vasculogenesis, which is the spontaneous formation of new blood vessels. It dose this through oxidative stress pathways. A byproduct of oxidative stress, which is a imbalance between reactive oxygen and our bodies ability to detoxify, is redox signaling. Important to us, because redox signaling activates our MSC's to differentiate and begin vasculogenesis. Two hours of HBOT at 2 ATA (atmospheres absolute) is shown to double the amount of circulating stem cells in a persons body. While 40-60 hours of hyperbaric oxygen exposure (20 treatments x 2 hours) increases stem cells by 800%... 800%! As we age our bodies begin to loose the ability to naturally produce a sufficient number of stem cells. HBOT is the safest and most effective way clinically to increase stem cell proliferation, far safer than any pharmaceutical options. While drugs are associated with a host of known side effects, HBOT carries with it a significantly lower risk of such effects. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy not only mobilizes and proliferates our MSC's in vivo, but it greatly facilitates future treatments using stem cell therapies.
Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
- To fight infection, a fully oxygenated body will kill off any anaerobic bacteria, and will enhance the effectiveness of some antibiotics.
- To oxygenate ischemic tissue, breathing oxygen under pressure dissolves more O2 into your body, oxygen is then delivered by plasma, which means parts of our body that are not getting sufficient amounts of blood are still getting sufficient amounts of oxygen.
- To “off gas”, by breathing 100% oxygen under pressure, toxic gases like carbon monoxide are forced out of the blood stream, this greatly reduces the damage done by toxic gases.
- To promote vasoconstriction, hyperbaric treatments cause our circulatory system to constrict, while still delivering sufficient amounts of oxygen, this helps in treating compartment syndrome, reducing edema, and reducing inflammation.
- To promote vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, HBOT induces growth factors in our stem cells to help them differentiate and begin the formation of new blood vessels.
- To regain neurological function, HBOT stimulates blood flow, metabolism, and tissue growth in patients with brain injuries, this reawakens dormant but living cells surrounding the injured area.
