Research Review

Articles tagged with "Research Review".

Breaking the Hypoxia Barrier: HBOT in Cancer Treatment

Tags: Oncology, Drug Therapy, Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Help Cancer Treatments Work Better?

Yes. This 2025 comprehensive review found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy enhances chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy by addressing the low-oxygen environment inside tumors. In one study, combining HBOT with radiotherapy improved response rates from 67.4% to 95.3% for brain metastases.

Tumors create low-oxygen zones deep inside them. This low oxygen helps cancer cells resist treatment and spread. HBOT floods the body with oxygen under pressure, reaching areas that normal blood flow cannot. This review pulls together evidence from dozens of studies showing how HBOT can boost standard cancer treatments.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Long Covid: Systematic Review

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

January 20, 2026

Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Help Long COVID Symptoms?

Yes, with caveats. This systematic review of 10 studies found that HBOT can improve quality of life, fatigue, cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and heart/lung function in long COVID patients. However, more rigorous trials are needed before making definitive recommendations.

Long COVID affects an estimated 20-50% of people after COVID-19 infection. Symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and shortness of breath can last for weeks or months. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has shown promise as a treatment, but how strong is the evidence?

Hyperbaric Oxygen-facilitated Cancer Treatment: Minireview

Tags: Oncology, Cold Therapy, Drug Therapy, Research Review

January 20, 2026

Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Improve Cancer Treatment?

Yes. This 2024 minireview found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy enhances multiple cancer treatments by relieving tumor hypoxia, with clinical trials showing significant effectiveness for breast, gastric, esophageal, and lung cancers. One study achieved a 99.3% tumor inhibition rate when combining HBO with other therapies.

Tumors often have very low oxygen levels inside them. This low-oxygen environment, called hypoxia, helps cancer cells survive, resist treatment, and spread. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy floods the body with oxygen under pressure, and researchers have found it can boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy, light-based treatments, and immunotherapy.

Long Covid Symptom Prevalence Study

Tags: Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

What Are the Most Common Long COVID Symptoms?

Fatigue is the most common, affecting 47% of Long COVID patients. This comprehensive review of 27 studies found that shortness of breath (32%), muscle pain (25%), and joint pain (20%) were also highly prevalent. About 1 in 5 people have symptoms for 5 weeks or more, and 1 in 10 experience them beyond 12 weeks.

This review from the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine analyzed the current evidence on Long COVID symptoms, complications, and management. The findings reveal that persistent symptoms occur regardless of how severe the initial COVID-19 infection was.

Effects of Hyperoxia on Sea-level Exercise Performance, Training,

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

January 20, 2026

Does Breathing Extra Oxygen Really Improve Exercise Performance?

Yes. This meta-analysis of 51 studies found that breathing oxygen-enriched air has a large effect on time to exhaustion (effect size 0.89) and moderate effects on other performance measures. Higher oxygen concentrations correlated with greater performance improvements.

Athletes and fitness enthusiasts often wonder if supplemental oxygen can boost their workouts. Researchers analyzed decades of studies to find out. The results show clear benefits, especially for endurance activities.

Effects of Hyperoxic Training on Human Performance

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

January 20, 2026

Does Training While Breathing Extra Oxygen Improve Fitness?

Yes. This systematic review of 7 studies found that hyperoxic training improves performance with a large effect (Cohen’s d = 1.79) and oxygen uptake with a medium effect (d = 0.57). Training with 60-100% oxygen for 3-6 weeks produced notable improvements compared to normal-air training.

While scientists have studied altitude training (low oxygen) for decades, training with extra oxygen (hyperoxia) is less researched. This review analyzed what happens when people train while breathing oxygen-enriched air over several weeks.

Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia Protocols on Physical Performance

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

January 20, 2026

Does Intermittent Hypoxia Training Improve Athletic Performance?

Yes. This umbrella review of 22 systematic reviews analyzing 487 studies and 5,333 participants found that intermittent hypoxia protocols improve both aerobic and anaerobic performance, as well as muscular strength. Different hypoxia strategies work through different mechanisms.

Intermittent hypoxia (IH) involves alternating periods of low and normal oxygen levels. What started as a concern in sleep apnea has become a powerful tool for enhancing athletic performance. This comprehensive review examined all the existing systematic reviews on the topic.

Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia–hyperoxia on Performance- And

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

January 20, 2026

Can Alternating Low and High Oxygen Improve Health?

Yes. This systematic review of 8 studies found that intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia (IHH) improves exercise tolerance, peak oxygen uptake, cognitive function, and blood sugar control. The technique involves alternating periods of low-oxygen and high-oxygen breathing at rest.

Researchers have long known that brief exposures to low oxygen can trigger beneficial adaptations. This review examined whether replacing the normal-oxygen recovery periods with high-oxygen periods could enhance these benefits even more.

Effects of Pre-, Post- and Intra-exercise Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

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

January 20, 2026

Does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Help Athletic Performance or Recovery?

Not when used before or after exercise. This meta-analysis of 10 studies found no significant benefits from hyperbaric oxygen therapy before or after workouts. However, using it during exercise may help muscle endurance.

Athletes and fitness enthusiasts often look for ways to boost performance and speed recovery. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. This systematic review examined whether timing matters for any potential benefits.

HBOT Combined with Biomedical Engineering for Targeted Cancer Therapy

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

January 20, 2026

Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Improve Cancer Treatment Effectiveness?

Yes. This 2025 comprehensive review shows HBOT increases nanodrug penetration depth by 1.8 times and immune cell infiltration by 2.3 times. When combined with biomedical engineering technologies, tumor suppression rates reached 84.2% compared to 60% with chemotherapy alone.

Tumors create low-oxygen (hypoxic) environments that help cancer cells resist treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy addresses this problem by raising tumor oxygen levels from about 5 mmHg to 30-50 mmHg, making cancer more vulnerable to treatment.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Effectively Addresses the Pathophysiology of Long

Tags: Research Review, Evidence-Based Medicine

January 20, 2026

Why Might Hyperbaric Oxygen Help Long COVID?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) directly addresses multiple underlying causes of long COVID, including chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and tissue hypoxia. This clinical review explains why HBO shows promise as a treatment for this debilitating condition.

An estimated 50 million people worldwide, or 10-20% of those initially diagnosed with COVID-19, suffer from long COVID. Symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and shortness of breath can persist for months with no effective standard treatment. HBO may help by targeting the root causes rather than just symptoms.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Cancer—a Review

Tags: Oncology, Cold Therapy, Drug Therapy, Research Review

January 20, 2026

Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Safe for Cancer Patients?

Yes. This review of 28 studies found no evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes tumor growth or cancer recurrence. In fact, some evidence suggests it may actually inhibit certain cancer types.

For years, doctors worried that giving cancer patients extra oxygen might feed tumor growth. This comprehensive review examined the evidence and found those fears were unfounded. HBO appears safe for patients with malignancies.