Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by accumulation and deposition of Aβ peptides in human brains. The present study aimed to determine the protective effect of HBO and EGB761 on Aβ25-35 peptides induced cognitive impairment and neuronal toxicity in rats. Characteristics of AD were induced in rats by the administration of Aβ25-35 in hippocampus. Rats were treated with HBO (2ATA 60min/day), EGB761 (20mg/kg/day), and the combination of HBO+EGB761 (20mg/kg/day+2ATA). The Morris water maze was used to detect the protective effects of HBO and EGB761 against cognitive impairment. The activities of SOD and GSH, the apoptosis-related genes and proteins and the apoptosis rate of hippocampus were detected. Compared to the model group, EGB761 and HBO treatments synergistically improved the escape latency. Furthermore, the activities of SOD and GSH in rat hippocampal tissue were found to have increased with a concomitant reduction in MDA levels, Bax expression, cytochrome c release, and the activity of caspase-9/3.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the accumulation and deposition of Aβ peptides in human brains and Aβ induced free radical-mediated damage is one of the hypotheses. In the present study, we explored the protective effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and Ginkgo Biloba extract (EGB761) on Aβ25-35-induced brain toxicity. Our results demonstrated that EGB761, HBO, and the combination HBO and EGB761, could significantly improve the cognitive function in AD rats’ model, especially the combination group. What’s more, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in rat hippocampal tissue were obviously enhanced followed by evidently reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the same treatment groups mentioned earlier. There were no differences of nitric oxide (NO) productions in the group of EGB761, HBO, and HBO and EGB761, but they were all lower than that of model group. These findings suggest that both HBO and EGB761 may relieve cell toxicity and oxidative stress in AD and thus play a potential protective role in AD. Furthermore, the combination could have better effects compared with single one.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used to treat a variety of conditions and has shown possible efficacy for treating vascular dementia (VaD) in experimental and preliminary clinical studies. To assess the efficacy and safety of HBOT for VaD, used alone or as an adjuvant treatment. We searched ALOIS: the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group Specialised Register on 20 December 2011 using the terms: hyperbaric OR oxygen OR HBO OR HBOT. ALOIS contains records of clinical trials identified from monthly searches of a number of major healthcare databases, numerous trial registries and grey literature sources. We also searched the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and the VIP Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database on 10 November 2011 using the terms ‘gaoyayang’, ‘xueguanxingchidai’ and ‘chidai’. In addition, we contacted authors of included studies for additional information.