Breathing low-oxygen air slows Parkinson’s progression in mice. Really!

Maybe low oxygen has some other (negative) effects too! Is this borderline serious research or more like junk science? Are we dealing with nutty scientists?

"Low oxygen levels in the body, a condition called hypoxia, can lead to a range of effects, from mild symptoms like fatigue and confusion to severe complications such as organ damage and even death. The severity depends on the duration and degree of oxygen deprivation." (Google search result)

"Researchers from the Broad Institute and Mass General Brigham have shown that a low-oxygen environment — similar to the thin air found at Mount Everest base camp [???] — can protect the brain and restore movement in mice with Parkinson’s-like disease. ..."

From the abstract:

"Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by inclusions of α-synuclein (α-syn) and mitochondrial dysfunction in dopaminergic (DA) neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Patients with PD anecdotally experience symptom improvement at high altitude; chronic hypoxia prevents the development of Leigh-like brain disease in mice with mitochondrial complex I deficiency.

Here we report that intrastriatal injection of α-syn preformed fibrils (PFFs) in mice resulted in neurodegeneration and movement disorder, which were prevented by continuous exposure to 11% oxygen.

Specifically, PFF-induced α-syn aggregation resulted in brain tissue hyperoxia, lipid peroxidation and DA neurodegeneration in the SNpc of mice breathing 21% oxygen, but not in those breathing 11% oxygen.

This neuroprotective effect of hypoxia was also observed in Caenorhabditis elegans. Moreover, initiating hypoxia 6 weeks after PFF injection reversed motor dysfunction and halted further DA neurodegeneration. These results suggest that hypoxia may have neuroprotective effects downstream of α-syn aggregation in PD, even after symptom onset and neuropathological changes."

Breathing low-oxygen air slows Parkinson’s progression in mice | Broad Institute "Low-oxygen air prevented and even reversed symptoms in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease."

Hypoxia ameliorates neurodegeneration and movement disorder in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease (open access)

Fig. 1: Hypoxia treatment prevents α-syn aggregate-induced loss of DA neurons in the SNpc and movement disorder.