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Progress on the mechanism and application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for neurodegenerative diseases

WANG Fang-Fang, WANG Nan, YUAN Heng-Rong, XU Ji, MA Jun, BAO Xiao-Chen, FANG Yi-Qun^*

Department of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Research, Naval Medical Center, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China

Abstract

In 2040, neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) will overtake cancer as the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, the search for effective intervention measures has become the top priority to deal with this difficult burden. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used for the past 50 years to treat conditions such as decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning and radiation damage. In recent years, studies have confirmed that HBOT has good effects in improving cognitive impairment after brain injury and stroke, and alleviating neurodegeneration and dysfunction related to NDD. Here we reviewed the pathogenesis and treatment state of NDD, introduced the application of HBOT in animal models and clinical studies of NDD, and expounded the application potential of HBOT in the treatment of NDD from the perspective of mitochondrial function, neuroinflammation, neurogenesis and angiogenesis, oxidative stress, apoptosis, microcirculation and epigenetics.

Key words: dopamine system; Alzheimer's disease; Parkinson's disease; schizophrenia;

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 方以群　　E-mail:

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2025.0033

Citing This Article：

WANG Fang-Fang, WANG Nan, YUAN Heng-Rong, XU Ji, MA Jun, BAO Xiao-Chen, FANG Yi-Qun. Progress on the mechanism and application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for neurodegenerative diseases. Acta Physiol Sin 2025; 77 (2): 318-326 (in Chinese with English abstract).