Targeting Vascular Impairment, Neuroinflammation, and Oxidative Stress Dynamics with Whole-Body Cryotherapy in Multiple Sclerosis Treatment

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS), traditionally perceived as a neurodegenerative disease, exhibits significant vascular alternations, including blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption, which may predispose patients to increased cardiovascular risks. This vascular dysfunction is intricately linked with the infiltration of immune cells into the central nervous system (CNS), which plays a significant role in perpetuating neuroinflammation. Additionally, oxidative stress serves not only as a byproduct of inflammatory processes but also as an active contributor to neural damage. The synthesis of these multifaceted aspects highlights the importance of understanding their cumulative impact on MS progression. This review reveals that the triad of vascular damage, chronic inflammation, and oxidative imbalance may be considered interdependent processes that exacerbate each other, underscoring the need for holistic and multi-targeted therapeutic approaches in MS management. There is a necessity for reevaluating MS treatment strategies to encompass these overlapping pathologies, offering insights for future research and potential therapeutic interventions. Whole-body cryotherapy (WBCT) emerges as one of the potential avenues for holistic MS management approaches which may alleviate the triad of MS progression factors in multiple ways.

The Effect of Physical Activity and Repeated Whole-Body Cryotherapy on the Expression of Modulators of the Inflammatory Response in Mononuclear Blood Cells among Young Men

“…Moreover, both physical activity and WBC increased the expression of IL6 mRNA, and this effect could be observed during the whole study, which may indicate the influence of WBC on the modulation of inflammatory pathways [39]. The noted anti-inflammatory properties of WBC indicate its potential implementation as an adjunct therapeutic intervention in conditions marked by chronic low-grade inflammation, such as metabolic syndrome [40] atherosclerosis [41], and multiple sclerosis [42], but also cardiovascular diseases [43] and mental disorders [44].…”

Mitigating sTNF/TNFR1 activation on VGluT2+ spinal cord interneurons improves immune function after mid-thoracic spinal cord injury

“…Chronic inflammation after injury and disease (i.e., SCI, TBI, Alzheimer's, and MS) has previously been documented to alter neuron health and increase hyperexcitability of sympathetic circuitry in the CNS (Chen et al, 2024;Galvis-Montes et al, 2023;Ritzel et al, 2024). Moreover, targeting chronic inflammation after injury and disease has proven to be beneficial for disease progression and cognition (Dziedzic, Maciak, Miller, Starosta, & Saluk, 2024;Funaki, Nio-Kobayashi, Suzuki, & Bando, 2024). Therefore, we hypothesized that mitigating chronic inflammation in the CNS after SCI improves anti-viral immunity.…”

Pre-exercise cryotherapy reduces myoglobin and creatine kinase levels after eccentric muscle stress in young women

“…Whole-body cryostimulation (WBC), medically denominated as whole-body cryotherapy, encompasses succinct exposures (not exceeding 3 min) to frigid ambient conditions, with temperature parameters setting between −100°C and −160°C. As the research review shows, these safe, rarely causing side effects cold-temperature treatments ( Legrand et al, 2023 ), are deployed in order preventative health, therapeutic regimens as well as regeneration and sport medicine ( Lombardi et al, 2017 ; Patel et al, 2019 ; Bouzigon et al, 2021 ; Garcia et al, 2021 ; Kujawski et al, 2021 ; Fontana et al, 2022 ; Dziedzic et al, 2024 ; Jeyaraman et al, 2024 ).…”