PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Oxygen restriction helps fast-aging mice live longer

Lab analysis suggests for first time that reduced oxygen intake might extend mammalian lifespan

2023-05-23
(Press-News.org) For the first time, researchers have shown that reduced oxygen intake, or “oxygen restriction”, is associated with longer lifespan in lab mice, highlighting its anti-aging potential. Robert Rogers of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, US, and colleagues present these findings in a study publishing May 23rd in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

Research efforts to extend healthy lifespan have identified a number of chemical compounds and other interventions that show promising effects in mammalian lab animals— for instance, the drug metformin or dietary restriction. Oxygen restriction has also been linked to longer lifespan in yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies. However, its effects in mammals have been unknown.

To explore the anti-aging potential of oxygen restriction in mammals, Rogers and colleagues conducted lab experiments with mice bred to age more quickly than other mice while showing classic signs of mammalian aging throughout their bodies. The researchers compared the lifespans of mice living at normal atmospheric oxygen levels (about 21 percent) to the lifespans of mice that, at 4 weeks of age, had been moved to a living environment with a lower proportion of oxygen (11 percent – similar to that experienced at an altitude of 5000 meters).

They found that the mice in the oxygen-restricted environment lived about 50 percent longer than the mice in normal oxygen levels, with a median lifespan of 23.6 weeks compared to 15.7 weeks. The oxygen-restricted mice also had delayed onset of aging-associated neurological deficits.

Prior research has shown that dietary restriction extends the lifespan of the same kind of fast-aging mice used in this new study. Therefore, the researchers wondered if oxygen restriction extended their lifespan simply by causing the mice to eat more. However, they found that oxygen restriction did not affect food intake, suggesting other mechanisms were at play.

These findings support the anti-aging potential of oxygen restriction in mammals, perhaps including humans. However, extensive additional research will be needed to clarify its potential benefits and illuminate the molecular mechanisms by which it operates.

Rogers adds, “We find that chronic continuous hypoxia (11% oxygen, equivalent to what would be experienced at Everest Base Camp) extends lifespan by 50% and delays the onset of neurologic debility in a mouse aging model. While caloric restriction is the most widely effective and well-studied intervention to increase lifespan and healthspan, this is the first time that ‘oxygen restriction’ has been demonstrated as beneficial in a mammalian aging model.”

#####

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002117

Citation: Rogers RS, Wang H, Durham TJ, Stefely JA, Owiti NA, Markhard AL, et al. (2023) Hypoxia extends lifespan and neurological function in a mouse model of aging. PLoS Biol 21(5): e3002117. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002117

Author Countries: United States

Funding: This work was funded by a gift from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation to VKM. VKM is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. RSR is supported by the Parker B. Francis Family Foundation Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How the February 2023 Türkiye earthquakes ruptured and produced damaging shaking

2023-05-23
Three studies now published in the open-access journal The Seismic Record offer an initial look at the February 6, 2023 earthquakes in south-central Türkiye and northwestern Syria, including how, where, and how fast the earthquakes ruptured and how they combined as a “devastating doublet” to produce damaging ground shaking. The two earthquakes, a magnitude 7.8 followed approximately nine hours later by a magnitude 7.6, took place at the tectonically active and complex junction between the Anatolian, Arabian, and ...

Rural patients with diabetes experience worse health outcomes than urban patients

Rural patients with diabetes experience worse health outcomes than urban patients
2023-05-23
Rural Patients With Diabetes Experience Worse Health Outcomes Than Urban Patients Mayo Clinic researchers conducted a study within their health care system to identify factors associated with quality of care among rural and urban patients with diabetes. The study evaluated patient attainment of a five-component diabetic care metric, known as the D5 metric. This metric includes no tobacco use, hemoglobin A1C <8%, blood pressure <140/90, statin use, and aspirin use. Researchers considered age, sex, race, Adjusted Clinical Group score (a series of mutually exclusive, health status categories defined by morbidity, age, and sex), insurance type, primary care clinician type, ...

Focusing on satiety and satiation may aid long-term weight loss compared to calorie counting diets

2023-05-23
Focusing on Satiety and Satiation May Aid Long-Term Weight Loss Compared to Calorie Counting Diets Researchers  hypothesized that focusing on satiety (feeling free of hunger) and satiation (feeling satisfied with a meal) through the consumption of fruits and vegetables may be better targets for weight loss success. The researchers compared the impact of two diets — Diabetes Prevention Program Calorie Counting versus MyPlate — on satiation (feeling satisfied with a meal), satiety (feeling free of hunger) and on body fat composition in primary care patients. Two hundred and sixty-one overweight, adult, low-income ...

Too few primary care doctors address obesity with their patients, highlighting need for weight loss tool

2023-05-23
Too Few Primary Care Doctors Address Obesity With Their Patients, Highlighting Need for Weight Loss Tool After finding that few to no clinicians provided weight management care, researchers developed a weight loss tool called PATHWEIGH. This tool was designed to remove clinician barriers in providing patient care that addressed weight. Early success with the tool led to PATHWEIGH being implemented in the health system’s 57 primary care clinics. Researchers describe the characteristics of patients to determine ...

Artificial intelligence can help categorize and triage primary care patients with respiratory symptoms

2023-05-23
Researchers from Iceland trained a machine learning model with artificial intelligence to triage patients with respiratory symptoms before the patients visit a primary care clinic. To train the machine learning model, the researchers used only questions that a patient might be asked about before a clinic visit. Information was extracted from 1,500 clinical text notes that included a physician's interpretation of the patient's symptoms and signs, as well as reasons for clinical decisions made during the consultation, such as imaging referrals and prescriptions. Patients were categorized into one of five diagnostic categories based on information in clinical notes. Patients from all ...

Standardized measures are needed to quantify EHR workload outside time scheduled with patients

2023-05-23
Amid an uptick in publications looking to quantify the electronic health record (EHR) workload faced by clinicians, researchers propose three recommendations to ensure the accuracy and replicability of research in this space. Their recommendations include: 1) separating all time working in the EHR outside time scheduled with patients from time working in the EHR during time scheduled with patients, 2) including any time before or after scheduled appointments as “after-hours,” and 3) encouraging the EHR vendor and research communities to develop validated methods for measuring active EHR ...

Updated literature review reinforces link between care continuity, lower health care costs and more appropriate care usage

2023-05-23
In this systematic review, the authors summarized the wide range of peer-reviewed literature that links continuity of the doctor-patient relationship to health care costs and care utilization. This information is important to establish continuity measurement in value-based payment design. The authors conducted a literature review of articles published between 2002 and 2022 about "continuity of care" and "continuity of patient care," as well as payor-relevant outcome categories, such as cost ...

Longtime University of Kentucky child neurologist receives Governor’s Service Award

Longtime University of Kentucky child neurologist receives Governor’s Service Award
2023-05-23
FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 19, 2023) — On Wednesday, May 17, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Secretary Eric Friedlander recognized UK HealthCare’s Robert J. Baumann, M.D., with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Baumann has worked in the field of child neurology in Kentucky for more than five decades. He was key in establishing the Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs (OCSHCN) network of regional medical clinics in Eastern ...

Gratitude practice among health care workers shows positive effects on well-being, with limitations

2023-05-23
Researchers tested a digital version of a positive psychology intervention called “Three Good Things” (3GT) among health care workers to assess whether gratitude practice improved well-being. Two hundred and twenty-three participants—all of whom were based at a single, large academic medicine department—were randomized to an immediate intervention or delayed intervention control group. During the study, participants received text messages three times per week, prompting them to document three things for which they were grateful. Participants completed surveys measuring levels of depression, positive affect, gratitude, and life satisfaction at the study’s ...

Allowing patients with disabilities to describe their own clinical experiences can improve doctor communications

2023-05-23
Researchers looking to better understand patient experiences are turning to patient-guided tours (PGT) of health facilities, an approach drawn from the experience-based design literature. However, little research has assessed how patients with disabilities perceive the approach. In this qualitative study, 18 patients were asked to walk through the clinic as they would on a typical visit while describing their experiences. Patients’ experiences and perceptions of the tours were audiotaped and transcribed. Additionally, investigators took field notes and completed thematic content analyses. Their findings support the value ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Storing electrons from hydrogen for clean chemical reactions

Unlocking how to use mRNA to target Alzheimer’s disease

Kessler Foundation secures $770,000 in grants to advance leading-edge spinal cord research

Going ‘back to the future’ to forecast the fate of a dead Florida coral reef

How extratropical ocean-atmosphere interactions can contribute to the variability of jet streams in the Northern Hemisphere

MSK Research Highlights, March 28, 2024

USDA, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College collaborate to support Indigenous Seed Sovereignty

For younger women, mental health now may predict heart health later

Missed opportunity: AEDs near cardiac arrests rarely used by bystanders

Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all

Alcohol raises heart disease risk, particularly among women

TTUHSC announces new center for nursing research

Adding just enough fuel to the fire

Impact of synbiotic supplements on the gut microbiome and overall health of penguins

Promising advances in organosilica membranes for separating organic liquid mixtures

Cell phone video technology unveils new method for analyzing walking and gait

Ancient isolation’s impact on modern ecology

Synaptic protein change during development offers clues on evolution and disease

How commercial rooftop solar power could bring affordable clean energy to low-income homes

Taking a closer look at pulmonary fibrosis genetics

Cats with MDR1 mutation at risk of severe reactions to popular medication

IOP Publishing and IPEM mandate reporting of sex and gender in research 

Dogs trained to detect trauma stress by smelling humans’ breath

Electronic device thermal management made simpler and slightly better!

Study: Dangerous surgical site infections can be reduced with simple prevention protocol

Genetic testing of patients with atrial fibrillation can alert clinicians to potential development of life-threatening conditions

Artificial Intelligence tool successfully predicts fatal heart rhythm

What progress has China made in agriculture green development over the past five years?

ALMA finds new molecular signposts in starburst galaxy

Open waste burning linked to air pollution in Northwestern Greenland

[Press-News.org] Oxygen restriction helps fast-aging mice live longer
Lab analysis suggests for first time that reduced oxygen intake might extend mammalian lifespan