Oxygen Therapy Could Help Ward Off Dementia in Persons With COPD

Oxygen therapy appears to improve neurovascular function in the brains of persons with hypoxemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according a newly published study results. The findings could influence future research into how to prevent dementia and other conditions affecting the brain.

Persons with COPD are at increased risk of developing dementia, possibly as a result of lower brain oxygen levels associated with reduced blood supply from the brain’s vasculature. Accordingly, previous researchers have found that administering oxygen therapy to patients with COPD reduced the risk of developing dementia. Until now, however, the mechanism of this positive effect had not been fully investigated.

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In the study, results of which were published online July 6, 2018, in Experimental Physiology,¹ the researchers used ultrasonography to assess blood flow in the brains of COPD patients at rest and before and during 20 to 30 minutes of supplemental nasal oxygen therapy. The authors also assessed the link between brain activity and blood flow in the brain: Participants began with their eyes shut, then opened them and read a standardized text. The researchers expected brain blood flow (as measured with ultrasonography) to increase during this test to provide adequate oxygen supply during the increased brain activity. These measurements allowed the authors to estimate the extent to which oxygen delivery to the brain increased during the reading test.

The results showed that blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain increased significantly during reading as blood vessels in the brain dilated in response to greater oxygen demand. The researchers concluded that providing additional oxygen improved blood vessel function in the brain of patients with COPD by matching blood supply to the demands of the brain activity. This study lays the groundwork for investigation into and better understand of the biological systems that control oxygen delivery to the brain.

—Michael Gerchufsky

Reference:

Hoiland RL, Mladinov S, Barak OF, et al. Oxygen therapy improves cerebral oxygen delivery and neurovascular function in hypoxaemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients [published online July 5, 2018]. Exp Physiol. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP086994.