Evidence-Based Medicine

Articles tagged with "Evidence-Based Medicine".

Oxygen Therapy During ADL Rehabilitation in Severe COVID-19

Tags: Exercise Recovery, Clinical Trial, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

How Long Do Severe COVID Patients Need Oxygen During Daily Activities?

About 7 weeks on average. This prospective study of 23 severe-to-critical COVID-19 patients found supplemental oxygen was needed for 48.6 days during activities of daily living. Showering required oxygen the longest (47.7 days), while dressing weaned first (38.4 days). Mechanical ventilation history and exertional desaturation predicted prolonged oxygen needs.

Recovering from severe COVID-19 involves regaining the ability to perform basic self-care tasks. This Singapore-based study tracked exactly how long patients needed supplemental oxygen during specific activities, providing valuable data for discharge planning and patient expectations.

Oxygen Therapy During Exercise Training in Chronic Obstructive

Tags: Exercise Recovery, Drug Therapy, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Does Oxygen During Exercise Training Help COPD Patients?

The evidence is limited but shows modest benefits. This Cochrane review of 5 studies found that oxygen supplementation during exercise training improved exercise time by about 2.7 minutes and reduced breathlessness scores. However, no improvements were found in walking distance or quality of life.

People with COPD struggle with exercise because shortness of breath limits their activity. Researchers wondered if adding oxygen during rehabilitation exercise sessions would help them train harder and see better results.

Oxygen Therapy in Traditional and Immunotherapeutic Treatment of Cancer

Tags: Metabolic Health, Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Can Oxygen Therapy Improve Cancer Treatment?

Yes. This review from Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy explains how tumor oxygenation inhibits cancer growth and enhances the effects of chemoradiotherapy. The authors propose that combining oxygen therapy with immunotherapy could create a highly effective approach to cancer treatment.

Tumors often grow faster than their blood supply, creating regions of low oxygen (hypoxia). This hypoxic environment helps cancer cells survive and resist treatment. Oxygenating tumors may reverse these advantages.

Oxygen-Enriched Air Boosts Exercise in Healthy and Sick Patients

Tags: Exercise Recovery, Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Does Breathing Extra Oxygen Improve Exercise Performance?

Yes. This systematic review found that breathing oxygen-enriched air (50% oxygen) increased maximal power output by 5.3% and endurance time by 52% in healthy people. In patients with pulmonary hypertension, the benefits were even larger, with endurance time more than doubling.

Exercise performance depends on how well your body delivers oxygen to working muscles and the brain. This comprehensive review examined what happens when you breathe air with either less oxygen (hypoxia, like at altitude) or more oxygen (hyperoxia, like supplemental oxygen therapy).

Physical Exercise-Based Rehabilitation for Long COVID: Meta-Analysis of 23 Studies

Tags: Exercise Recovery, Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Does Exercise-Based Rehabilitation Help Long COVID Symptoms?

Yes. This meta-analysis of 23 studies with 1,579 patients found exercise rehabilitation significantly improves walking distance (95m increase), reduces dyspnea, fatigue, and depression, and enhances quality of life. The adverse event rate was only 1.2%, making it a safe and effective therapy.

With 10-50% of COVID survivors developing long-lasting symptoms, effective treatments are urgently needed. Researchers systematically analyzed all available evidence on whether supervised exercise programs help people recover from long COVID.

Role of Mitochondrial Function and Cellular Bioenergetics in Ageing

Tags: Metabolic Health, Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Why Are Mitochondria Central to Aging and Disease?

Because they control energy production, cell death, and produce the reactive oxygen species that damage cells. This Buck Institute review shows mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and virtually every age-related disease. One in every 154 biomedical papers now involves mitochondria.

The explosive growth in mitochondrial research reflects their central importance. From 3,229 papers in 1973 to 5,921 papers in 2011, scientists increasingly recognize that understanding mitochondria is key to understanding disease and aging.

Supplemental Oxygen and Muscle Metabolism in Mitochondrial Myopathy

Tags: Exercise Recovery, Metabolic Health, Drug Therapy, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Can Oxygen Therapy Help People with Mitochondrial Muscle Disease?

Yes. This study found that breathing pure oxygen improved muscle energy production by 33% in patients with mitochondrial myopathy. In contrast, healthy controls showed only a 5% improvement that was not statistically significant.

Mitochondrial myopathy (MM) is a condition where the energy factories in muscle cells don’t work properly. This makes exercise difficult and exhausting. Researchers used advanced MRI technology to measure whether extra oxygen could help these struggling mitochondria work better.

Aging Is Associated with Hypoxia and Oxidative Stress in Adipose

Tags: Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Does Aging Cause Low Oxygen in Fat Tissue?

Yes. Researchers found a 38% reduction in oxygen levels in the visceral fat of aging mice. This low oxygen state was accompanied by increased oxidative stress, which may help explain age-related metabolic problems.

This study from Pennington Biomedical Research Center examined fat tissue in young (6-month-old) and old (23-month-old) mice. The findings suggest that hypoxia and oxidative stress in fat tissue could be important drivers of metabolic dysfunction as we age.

Hypoxia Metabolism in Ageing

Tags: Metabolic Health, Cold Therapy, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Does Aging Reduce Oxygen Supply to Your Tissues?

Yes. As we age, our tissues receive less oxygen due to decreased blood vessel formation and reduced blood flow at the capillary level. This oxygen shortage triggers specific metabolic changes that may contribute to age-related diseases.

Researchers at Oxford University explored how low oxygen (hypoxia) affects metabolism, particularly in ways that don’t depend on the well-known HIF1α pathway. Their findings suggest that hypoxia-driven metabolic changes play a significant role in the aging process.

Cold Water Immersion: Kill or Cure? Review Pdf

Tags: Cold Therapy, Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 16, 2026

Can Cold Water Both Kill and Heal?

Yes. Cold water immersion can be both deadly and therapeutic, depending on circumstances. This comprehensive review from the University of Portsmouth examines the paradox of cold water: it causes hundreds of deaths annually yet may offer significant health benefits when used properly.

The title “Kill or Cure?” captures the essential tension in cold water research. The same physiological responses that can cause sudden death in unprepared swimmers may, when controlled and gradual, produce health benefits. Understanding this paradox is essential for anyone considering cold water exposure.

Cold Water Swimming and Surgery and Clinical

Tags: Cold Therapy, Surgery, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 16, 2026

Why Do Some People Die in Seconds While Others Survive an Hour in Cold Water?

The difference lies in two competing reflexes and how quickly the brain cools. Cold water immersion can kill within seconds through cardiac disturbances, or protect the brain for over an hour through hypothermia. This Lancet review explains both extremes.

Cold immersion deaths are the third most common cause of accidental death in adults and second in children worldwide. About 450,000 such deaths occurred in 2000 alone. Yet a 2-year-old girl once survived 66 minutes fully submerged in iced water and made a full recovery. Understanding why some die instantly while others survive requires looking at the body’s competing responses to cold.

Cold Water Swimming as an Add-on Treatment for Depression

Tags: Mental Health, Cold Therapy, Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 16, 2026

Can Cold Water Swimming Help Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression?

This Danish feasibility study is testing that question. About 14% of depression patients develop treatment-resistant depression within a year of their first hospital contact. Researchers at Little Belt Hospital are investigating whether twice-weekly cold water swimming sessions could help these patients.

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a major challenge in psychiatry. Some patients don’t respond adequately to medications. Others stop taking their medication because of unacceptable side effects. This has led researchers to explore alternative approaches, including cold water swimming.