Cure for dementia could lie in the air we breathe

(Sarah Knapton/ The Montreal Gazette) — For decades scientists have struggled to find a drug to prevent or reverse dementia, coming up with ever-more complex molecules to try to dampen the devastating impacts.

Yet the answer may be simpler than anyone thought – oxygen. A study has shown that placing patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in a hyperbaric chamber boosts blood flow in the brain, flooding vessels with oxygen and improving memory, attention and processing speed.

Many people diagnosed with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer’s so it may be the first treatment that could prevent such a decline.

A therapy that could stop the disease has never been more needed. There are 850,000 people living with dementia in Britain, and the figure is expected to rise to a million by 2025. (…)

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