Stem Cells Increased by Hyperbaric Oxygen

Stem Cells Increased by Hyperbaric Oxygen

According to a press release on EurekAlert, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that hyperbaric oxygen treatments increase the number of stem cells circulating in a patient’s body eight times. The press release says, “The movement, or mobilization, of stem cells can be triggered by a variety of stimuli – including pharmaceutical agents and hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Whereas drugs are associated with a host of side effects, hyperbaric oxygen treatments carry a significantly lower risk of such effects.”

The MedLine Plus Medical Encyclopedia defines hyperbaric oxygen treatment as follows: “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy uses a special chamber, sometimes called a pressure chamber, to allow a a person to breathe 100% oxygen. This means that the air inside the pressurized chamber is typically 2 1/2 times greater than normal atmospheric pressure. This leads to your blood carrying larger amounts of oxygen and bringing this oxygen to organs and tissues in the body. By doing so, wounds, particularly infected wounds, can heal more readily.” It originated as a treatment for scuba divers who suffered from decompression sickness, or “the bends.” The Medical College of Wisconsin has a web page that is several years old but still informative on hyperbaric treatments.

Perhaps the increase in stem cells helps explain why wounds heal more rapidly with hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Significantly more research needs to be done to explore the implications of increased oxygen and blood stem cells. I would be interested in knowing if blood stem cells can be increased in culture through additional oxygen, or if it only works in the body.