Background

Whole-Body Cryotherapy (WBC) - a repetitive, short-term exposure to extremely low temperatures – may become an effective early intervention for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It is a heterogeneous group of symptoms associated with cognitive dysfunction which is estimated to transform into dementia in 50% cases.

Study design

The prospective randomised double-blind sham-controlled study aimed to determine the efficacy of WBC on cognitive functioning and biological mechanisms. The study was registered with Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619001627145).

Methods

Participants with MCI (n = 62; (20<MoCA>26) were randomly allocated to cryogenic temperatures (−110 °C till −160 °C) (EG, n = 33) or placebo-controlled group (CG, n = 29). Cognitive functions were measured at baseline (T1), after the 10th WBC session (T2) and after 2 week-break (T3) with DemTect, SLUMS and Test Your Memory (TYM). Secondary outcome measures included quality of life (WHOQoL–BREF), self-reported well-being (VAS) and depressive symptoms (GDS). Whole blood samples (10 ml) were collected at T1 and T2 to evaluate levels of cytokines, neurotrophins, NO and biochemical parameters CRP total cholesterol, prolactin).

Results

There were significant differences between groups measured at T2 in immediate recall (DemTect) and in orientation (TYM) in favour of WBC group. Improvement in mood was detected in self-reported depressive symptoms level (WHOQoL-26; T2 p = 0.04; VAS mood T2 p = 0.02; T3 p = 0.07). The significant reduction of BDNF level was observed (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

WBC may increase the performance of cognitive functions. It seems promising to combine WBC with existing behavioural and cognitive trainings in the future studies investigating early interventions methods in MCI.

中文翻译：

---

全身冷冻疗法后认知功能障碍的改善–一项随机对照试验

背景

全身体冷冻疗法（WBC）–重复，短期暴露于极低温度下–可能成为轻度认知障碍（MCI）的有效早期干预措施。它是与认知功能障碍相关的一组异质性症状，估计有50％的病例会转变为痴呆。

学习规划

前瞻性随机双盲假对照研究旨在确定白细胞对认知功能和生物学机制的疗效。该研究已在澳大利亚新西兰临床试验注册中心（ACTRN12619001627145）注册。

方法

具有MCI（n  = 62;（20 <MoCA> 26））的参与者被随机分配至低温（-110°C至-160°C）（EG，n  = 33）或安慰剂对照组（CG，n  = 29 ）。在基线（T1），第10届WBC会议之后（T2）和2周休息（T3）之后，使用DemTect，SLUMS和“测试您的记忆力（TYM）”来测量认知功能，次要结果包括生活质量（WHOQoL） –BREF），自我报告的幸福感（VAS）和抑郁症状（GDS），在T1和T2采集全血样品（10 ml），以评估细胞因子，神经营养素，NO和生化参数的水平CRP总胆固醇，催乳素）。

结果

在T2时测得的两组之间，即刻召回（DemTect）和定向（TYM）有显着差异，而对WBC组有利。在自我报告的抑郁症状水平中检测到情绪改善（WHOQoL-26； T2 p  = 0.04； VAS情绪T2 p  = 0.02； T3 p  = 0.07）。观察到BDNF水平显着降低（p  ＜0.05）。

结论

白细胞可以提高认知功能的表现。在将来的研究MCI早期干预方法的研究中，将WBC与现有的行为和认知培训相结合似乎很有希望。