Diagnosed with Alzheimer's and treated using a hyperbaric chamber

In 2019, Dr. Harch published a case study https://www.medgasres.com/text.asp?2018/8/4/181/248271 interesting story about a patient with Alzheimer's who was treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy . After 40 sessions in a hyperbaric chamber , an improvement in symptoms was observed and confirmed by brain imaging. Below, I explain what her progress was and why this therapy is interesting for treating dementia.

Brigitte, who has Alzheimer's disease, before starting hyperbaric oxygen therapy

To begin, I present to you Brigitte (fictitious first name) as she was described in the study. She was 58 years old at the time of the events. She was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's 5 years ago. The brain imaging performed confirmed the degeneration of her brain.

Furthermore, it is stated that his illness had progressed rapidly during the 8 months preceding his meeting with Dr. Harch. Here is what was observed at that time:

Following this appointment, Brigitte began hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The study does not specify whether she underwent the therapy at home or in a private practice. However, given the protocol, both options were possible.
The goal was to carry out 5 sessions in a hyperbaric chamber per week, for 8 weeks.

Brigitte after her 40 sessions in the hyperbaric chamber

After 1 month of therapy, here is the progress reported by the patient:

And after 40 sessions in the hyperbaric chamber, here is the progress reported by Brigitte:

These observations will be supplemented by several brain imaging scans that will confirm an increase in brain metabolism. Including in the areas of the brain usually affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Here is a 3D representation of Brigitte's brain, before and after therapy:

The brain scan on the left was done before therapy. The one on the right was done 2 months later, at the end of therapy. In the center, the color scale indicates the metabolic activity of the brain. For example, red or white indicates higher metabolic activity than green or yellow. Feel free to pause the video to compare.

Why would the hyperbaric chamber be effective in treating Alzheimer's disease?

Why did the hyperbaric chamber sessions help Brigitte?
Dr. Harch explains that 4 pathological processes https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879880/ have been identified in Alzheimer's disease:

And still according to Dr. Harch's explanations, the combination of hyperoxia and increased pressure (hence hyperbaric oxygen therapy) acts at the epigenetic level. That is to say that environmental factors (the pressure of the hyperbaric chamber and the pure oxygen breathed during the session) have an effect on genetic expression. Cellular mechanisms are then triggered and target the 4 pathological processes of Alzheimer's disease by:

For the more curious among you, I wrote an article about these famous regeneration mechanisms triggered at the cellular level .