High Risk Diabetics May Benefit from 5 day Hyperbaric Therapy

🧠 The Problem

Platelet aggregation—where blood platelets clump together—is a key factor in clot formation, worsening vascular risk. In type 2 diabetes (also known as NIDDM), this problem is often intensified due to hyperglycemia-driven rheological changes, such as increased blood viscosity and heightened platelet reactivity PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

 💡 The Idea Behind the Study

The hypothesis: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO)—breathing 100% oxygen at elevated pressure—might reduce platelet aggregation, potentially by modulating the activity of collagen, a known activator of platelets PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

 🔬 How the Study Was Done

• Subjects: 32 NIDDM patients (16 per group), recruited from a diabetes clinic at a naval hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia De Gruyter BrillE-Journal Universitas Airlangga.

• Groups:

  • NONB (Control): Normal air (20% O₂) at 1 ATA for 90 minutes/day.

  • HBO (Treatment): 100% O₂ at 2.4 ATA for three sessions of 30 minutes each, separated by two 5-minute fresh-air intervals—once daily for 5 days PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

• Measurements: Blood drawn before and after the 5-day regimen, measuring:

  • Latency Time (LT)

  • Aggregation Speed

  • Aggregation Index

  • Aggregation Percentage—all in response to collagen exposure PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

• Analysis: Statistical tests included normality, homogeneity, correlations, ANCOVA, and paired t-tests PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

 📊 Key Results

• HBO Group:

  • Latency Time (LT): Significant decrease.

  • Aggregation Index: Significant decrease.

  • Aggregation Speed & % Aggregation: Trends downward but not statistically significant PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

• NONB Group:

  • Significant decrease in Aggregation Speed and Aggregation Index.

  • No significant change in Latency Time and % Aggregation PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

• Conclusion: HBO (2.4 ATA, 100% O₂, 3×30 min/day for 5 days) effectively reduced key platelet aggregation parameters, especially latency and aggregation index, in NIDDM patients PubMedDe Gruyter Brill.

 🧩 Why This Matters

• Platelet aggregation is central to clot formation and cardiovascular risk—particularly problematic in diabetes.

• HBO’s ability to reduce aggregation metrics, especially latency and index, signals potential as a therapeutic tool for improving blood rheology in diabetic patients.

• Even though aggregation speed and percentage didn’t show statistical significance, the consistent downward trends suggest promising effects worth further exploration.

 ✨ Takeaway

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, applied for 5 consecutive days under a high-pressure, pure-oxygen regimen, can significantly dampen platelet aggregation, notably reducing the time to clot formation and overall aggregation index in type 2 diabetic patients. This hints at a novel, physiologically interesting strategy to address vascular complications in diabetes.

 📖 Reference

Widiyanti P, Suryohudoyo P. The role of hyperbaric oxygen to platelet aggregation in noninsulin‑dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2021 Jun 25;32(4).
(Study shows HBO at 2.4 ATA, 100% O₂, reduces platelet aggregation latency and index over 5-day treatment) De Gruyter BrillPubMed.