Why Look At Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy And Mitochondria
As obesity and metabolic disease become more common in older adults, age related changes in the heart are getting more attention. One contributor to this decline is mitochondrial dysfunction inside heart cells, especially in pre diabetic states. Mitochondria are the tiny structures that generate cellular energy, so when they are not working well, cardiac function can suffer.
This study explored whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy and mitochondrial function are linked in a way that could protect the aging heart. Previous work showed that a compound called D galactose can accelerate aging changes and worsen cardiac problems in pre diabetic rats by damaging mitochondrial function. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy had already been shown to ease D galactose related cognitive decline in other models, so the authors asked whether it might also help the heart.
Inside The Study: An Aging And Pre Diabetes Model
Researchers used fifty six Wistar rats that were fed either a normal diet or a high fat diet for twelve weeks to create pre diabetic conditions. For another eight weeks, the animals received either saline or daily D galactose injections to induce aging related changes.
By week twenty one, the rats were divided into seven groups. Some served as sham treated controls and breathed normal oxygen at room pressure. Others received hyperbaric oxygen therapy once a day for sixty minutes at two atmospheres absolute, with one hundred percent oxygen. This design allowed the team to compare the combined effects of high fat diet, D galactose, and HBOT on metabolic and cardiac outcomes.
Key Findings: Better Mitochondrial Health, Better Heart Function
In pre diabetic rats exposed to D galactose, the heart showed clear signs of metabolic strain and mitochondrial dysfunction, along with reduced cardiac performance. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy changed this pattern. HBOT:
Improved metabolic impairments in the pre diabetic animals
Reduced markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in heart tissue
Increased autophagy, a cellular recycling process that helps clear damaged components
Together, these changes were associated with measurable improvement in cardiac function in aged pre diabetic rats compared with sham treated animals.
What This Could Mean For Future Research
These results suggest that hyperbaric oxygen therapy may help protect the aging heart by supporting healthier mitochondrial function and cellular cleanup processes. It is important to remember that this work was done in a rat model, not in humans, so it represents an early step in understanding how HBOT might relate to cardiac health in pre diabetic or older individuals.
Future studies in people will be needed to clarify whether similar mitochondrial and cardiac benefits appear in clinical settings, and how HBOT might fit alongside other strategies for metabolic and cardiovascular wellness.
Check out the article here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8109141/
