Low Oxygen, New Opportunities
Researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that a low-oxygen atmosphere, like that found near Mount Everest’s base camp, might shield brain cells from Parkinson’s disease-induced damage. The study in Nature Neuroscience defies conventional treatment methods by proposing that cutting back oxygen levels, as opposed to attacking poison proteins, could help alleviate patient symptoms.
Parkinson’s, found in more than 10 million individuals worldwide, is characterized by the progressive death of brain neurons, causing tremors, stiffness, and slowed movement. In brains affected by Parkinson’s, toxic protein clumps known as Lewy bodies accumulate, disrupting mitochondria the cell’s energy factories. When mitochondria fail, oxygen accumulates to toxic levels within the brain, fuelling cell death.
Mice in the Mountains
To see if their hypothesis would work, scientists inoculated mice with α-synuclein proteins, which cause Lewy bodies to form and imitate the symptoms of Parkinson’s. The mice were divided into two groups: one that breathed regular air with 21% oxygen, and another that lived in chambers filled with 11% oxygen the equivalent of residing 16,000 feet above sea level.
The findings were dramatic. Three months later, mice exposed to regular air had severe motion impairments, dying neurons, and excessive Lewy bodies. But mice kept in low-oxygen chambers, although developing Lewy bodies, still had normal neurons and no motion problems.
Even more astonishing, when hypoxia was administered six weeks after symptoms had already started, the mice not only ceased losing neurons, but they also recovered motor function and decreased anxiety-like behaviours.
Rethinking Parkinson’s Treatment
The findings suggest that while hypoxia cannot prevent the formation of Lewy bodies, it shields neurons from their harmful effects. “Too much oxygen in the brain turns out to be toxic,” explained study author Dr. Vamsi Mootha. “By reducing the overall oxygen supply, we’re cutting off the fuel for that damage.”
Surprisingly, there has been anecdotal evidence suggesting this link for a long time. Some patients with Parkinson’s said they felt better at high elevation, piquing scientists’ interest. This research offers the first clear biological reason for why that could be the case.
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A Path Toward ‘Hypoxia in a Pill’
The discovery may transform the way physicians treat Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases associated with mitochondrial failure. Rather than targeting only the destruction of protein clumps, treatments may address the brain’s oxygen equilibrium. Scientists are now investigating “hypoxia in a pill” medications, intended to recreate the advantages of low oxygen without patients having to reside at high elevation.
However, researchers note that the work is still preliminary and thus far been conducted only in animal models. “It’s unlikely to be a treatment for all forms of neurodegeneration,” replied Dr. Mootha, “but it’s a very powerful idea one that could change our approach to treating these diseases.”
For the time being, the breakthrough presents a new avenue for Parkinson’s research and a spark of hope for the millions of people living with the disease, occasionally, less oxygen may just equal more life.
