PLT Test Blog

One old post from this blog has been going viral recently (3,000 views in one day, via Facebook) and it is quite relevant to a debate that has been going on in the comments about the potential merits and mechanisms of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). Two commenters are big fans of HBOT. Hypoperfusion is reduced blood flow, which is found in some people with autism and also in people with some types of dementia   Having reread my old post I would recommend it to those who are looking into the treatment of brain damage caused by ischemia .   Brain Hypoperfusion in Autism & Cocoa While much in neuroscience is extremely complicated, there are some pretty basic things to consider that are not. Adequate blood supply is one of the basic issues and is something that can be improved. You can increase blood flow by reducing vascular resistance, which means reducing the work the heart has to do to circulate blood around the body. As you reduce this resistance, blood pressure will fa...

Today’s post is simpler than many earlier ones and is actionable. A known feature of many neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia is reduced blood flow to certain parts of the brain.  In the medical jargon this is called hypoperfusion. This reduced blood flow is also present in autism and is measurable by MRI. We encountered epicatechin in early posts on cocoa flavanols.  It would seem that one of epicatechin’s many effects is to increase cerebral blood flow.  Two chocolate companies, Mars (Cocoavia) in the US and Barry Callebaut (ACTICOA) in France, have developed high flavanol cocoa.  10 g of their cocoa contains about 1 g of flavanols and produces cognitive benefits; even a quarter of this dose gives the cardiovascular benefits.  Mars, in particular, are funding a great deal of research and have committed to a five year project with Harvard.  The high flavanol products are available today. Brain Perfusion Anomalies in Autism While most res...