Time and time-frequency analysis of near-infrared signals for the assessment of ozone autohemotherapy long-term effects in multiple sclerosis

Ozone autohemotherapy is an emerging therapeutic technique that is gaining increasing importance in treating neurological disorders. A validated and standard methodology to assess the effect of such therapy on brain metabolism and circulation is however still lacking. We used a near-infrared spectroscopy system (NIRS) to monitor the cerebral oxygenation of 9 subjects: 4 remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferers and 5 controls. Subjects were tested before, during, and after ozone autohemotherapy. We monitored the concentration changes in the level of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin, and in the level of the Cytochrome-c-oxidase (CYT-c). From the time and time-frequency analysis of the NIRS signals we extracted 128 variables, which were used to characterize the metabolic brain pattern during the therapy. We showed that by using only 7 NIRS variables out of 128 it is possible to characterize the metabolic brain pattern of the two groups of subjects. The MS subjects showed a marked increase of the CYT-c activity and concentration about 40 minutes after the end of the autohemotherapy, possibly revealing a reduction of the chronic oxidative stress level typical of MS sufferers. From a technical point of view, this preliminary study showed that NIRS could be useful to show the effects of ozone autohemotherapy at cerebral level, in a long term monitoring. The clinical result of this study is the quantitative measurement of the CYT-c level changes in MS induced by ozone autohemotherap

Relationship between oxygen supply and cerebral blood flow assessed by transcranial Doppler and near – infrared spectroscopy in healthy subjects during breath – holding

BACKGROUND: Breath – holding (BH) is a suitable method for inducing cerebral vasomotor reactivity (VMR). The assessment of VMR is of clinical importance for the early detection of risk conditions and for the follow-up of disabled patients. Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) is used to measure cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) during BH, whereas near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measures the concentrations of the oxygenated (O(2)Hb) and reduced (CO(2)Hb) hemoglobin. The two techniques provide circulatory and functional-related parameters. The aim of the study is the analysis of the relationship between oxygen supply and CBFV as detected by TCD and NIRS in healthy subjects performing BH. METHODS: 20 healthy subjects (15 males and 5 females, age 33 ± 4.5 years) underwent TCD and NIRS examination during voluntary breath – holding. VMR was quantified by means of the breath-holding index (BHI). We evaluated the BHI based on mean CBFV, O(2)Hb and CO(2)Hb concentrations, relating the baseline to post-stimulus values. To quantify VMR we also computed the slope of the linear regression line of the concentration signals during BH. From the NIRS signals we also derived the bidimensional representation of VMR, plotting the instantaneous O(2)Hb concentration vs the CO(2)Hb concentration during the BH phase. Two subjects, a 30 years old current smoker female and a 63 years old male with a ischemic stroke event at the left middle cerebral artery, were tested as case studies. RESULTS: The BHI for the CBFV was equal to 1.28 ± 0.71 %/s, the BHI for the O(2)Hb to 0.055 ± 0.037 μmol/l/s and the BHI for CO(2)Hb to 0.0006 ± 0.0019 μmol/l/s, the O(2)Hb slope was equal to 0.15 ± 0.09 μmol/l/s and the CO(2)Hb slope to 0.09 ± 0.04 μmol/l/s. There was a positive correlation between the CBFV and the O(2)Hb increments during BH (r = 0.865). The bidimensional VMR pattern shows common features among healthy subjects that are lost in the control studies. CONCLUSION: We show that healthy subjects present a common VMR pattern when counteracting cerebral blood flow perturbations induced by voluntary BH. The proposed methodology allows for the monitoring of changes in the VMR pattern, hence it could be used for assessing the efficacy of neurorehabilitation protocols

The speed of reinfusion affects the vascular system during ozone major autohemotherapy

Ozone major autohemotherapy (O-MAHT) is a way of ozonetherapy administration consisting of drawing patient’s venous blood, mixing with oxygen/ozone, and reinfusing it into the vein. Some ozone therapists reported side effects during the O-MAHT, but the origin has not been described yet. We investigated the effect of blood drawing velocity during O-MAHT to see its effects on the vascular system and symptomatology. We administered O-MAHT to 11 subjects, and we interleaved fast and slow reinfusions. We monitored cerebral macrocirculation with transcranial Doppler (TCD) and tissue microcirculation with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Annoying symptoms appeared just during the fast reinfusion periods. NIRS and TCD parameters revealed vasoconstriction during fast reinfusion and improved metabolism during slow reinfusion. Overall, our investigation well discriminated fast from slow reinfusion velocity

Effects of oxygen ozone therapy on cardiac function in a patient with a prior myocardial infarction

Oxygen-ozone therapy has been piloted in Italy patients with ischemic heart disease or suffering from myocardial infarction since 1991. Over time, it has been observed that ozone exerts a significant anti-inflammatory and rheological activity: ozone activates the redox system, lowers the pro-inflammatory cytokines16β, TNFα, modulates the NF-KB system, reduces platelet aggregation, and stimulates the release of growth factors. It is because of these characteristics that oxygen-ozone therapy is used in the prevention and treatment of ischemic heart disease and for post-infarction rehabilitation. The case study – a critically ill patient aged 76 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), suffering from ischemic heart disease and heart attacks, high blood pressure, renal failure, ischemic vascular pluri-infarct CNS disease, Parkinsonism, stroke, neurological bladder disease and debilitating inguinal hernia – after a year and a half of AMI with infusions of autologous blood treated with ozone (GAE), recovered the left ventricular ejection fraction from 33 to 50% and underwent a successful inguinal hernia operation. It appears evident that oxygen ozone therapy using GAE protect the hearts of patients suffering from ischemic heart disease, and is useful during the acute phase of infarctions, as well as for rehabilitating patients who have had an AMI with stenting

Joint Metabonomic and Instrumental Analysis for the Classification of Migraine Patients with 677-MTHFR Mutations

Migraine is a neurological disorder that correlates with an increased risk of cerebrovascular lesions. Genetic mutations of the MTHFR gene are correlated to migraine and to the increased risk of artery pathologies. Also, migraine patients show altered hematochemical parameters, linked to an impaired platelet aggregation mechanism. Hence, the vascular assessment of migraineurs is of primary importance

Why Ozone Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis?

Ozone (O3), an allotrope of the Oxygen (O2), is normally present in atmosphere and it preserves us from solar ultraviolet rays. It was used for first time like antiseptic during First World War. In ’30 years Payr 82 extends its use to other diseases too. The same period it ascends the use of ozone for drinking in important citis, like Zurich, Marseilles, Singapore, Florence, Moscow, Konstanz.It has been shown ozone has an immunostimulatory effect at low concentration (20-35 μg/ml), while it is immunosoppressive if it is used at high concentration (45-65 μg/ml) 60. In 2002 Marx and Bardi 14 have demonstrated like in nature IgG execised a bactericidal action releasing  O3