The results are in and our anti-aging journey is finally complete for Mike and Kari! The two have taken part in following a study done in Israel in 2020. The study measures age markers, specifically telomere length, in subjects before and after a number of hyperbaric oxygen sessions. You can find more on telomeres and their role in chromosomes and cellular aging here.
Mike and Kari started their anti-aging journey with similar situations. They were similar in age, both in their early 60’s and both in good overall health. The study calls for 60 hyperbaric oxygen dives over a 90 day period. Mike and Kari scheduled 40 dives over a period of about 60 days, taking weekends off.
Kari completed about 30 dives before stopping due to a previously undiagnosed condition. However she was still able to see tremendous benefit! At 62 years of age, her telomere length would be expected to be around 7 Kb. Telomere length is measured in Kilobase pairs. Looking at her initial blood work below, her telomere length was 8.33 Kb. That number would put her in the average for someone in their mid to upper 30’s.
You can find this by tracking her 8.33 number to the left to where it intersects with the population ‘average’ line that runs from the upper left toward the center right at 100 years of age.
Kari’s final blood work showed that she increased her telomere length by more than 8% to 9.06 Kb.
Kari’s Initial Results
The final numbers for Kari are similar to the average of someone who is in their 20’s! As mentioned in this space before, continued shortening of telomeres eventually leads to cell death and can affect the health and lifespan of the individual. Lengthening telomeres may help delay the onset of age-related diseases and possibly affect lifespan.
Lifestyle, of course also plays an important role. Lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity can shorten telomeres. While diet and exercise can help lengthen telomeres. This goes hand-in-hand with what we’ve known for years, that diet, exercise and other lifestyle choices can have a dramatic affect on our health and longevity.
Mike completed his 40 dives with blood work taken prior to starting and again after the 40 dives. Like Kari, the 63 year old Mike had a good starting point with his telomere length at 8.22 Kb. And like Kari, that would be on par with someone in their mid or upper 30’s.
Mike’s Initial Results
Mike also saw a substantial increase in telomere length after 40 dives. His final numbers below show that he increased telomere length by almost 10% to 9.04 Kb. That gives him telomere length that would be expected in someone in their 20’s, on average.
Mike’s Final Results
So both were able to able to see substantial changes in their telomere length. But what does this mean? Since telomeres shorten as we age, longer telomeres are basically indicative of a ‘younger’ cell. And studies reveal that telomere length can affect the rate of aging and the potential onset of age-related diseases. Again, lifestyle also plays a major role in health and longevity. But hyperbaric oxygen treatments can be a key part of an anti-aging protocol.