30-Minute 5% CO2 Inhalation Clears Alzheimer’s Proteins in 12-Person Study

Q: If some tau protein is vital for memory, can CO2 therapy clear toxic buildup without also erasing our long-term memories?

Probably yes in principle, but it has not been proved. The CO2 approach appears to stimulate the brain’s glymphatic clearance system, which is meant to wash out waste from brain tissue, not strip away all tau indiscriminately. In Dr. Sephira Ryman’s small early study, the signal was that people with elevated tau showed more tau clearance after intermittent 5% CO2, while blood beta-amyloid also rose, suggesting waste was being moved out of the brain. That matters because tau is not simply “bad.” New research indicates normal, properly folded tau is important for long-term memory formation, including engram stability. The danger would be any therapy that broadly depletes healthy tau rather than preferentially removing abnormal, aggregated, or misfolded tau. So far, there is no evidence from the CO2 study that participants lost memories or had acute cognitive harm. But the study was tiny, short-term, and measured biomarker movement, not whether memory circuits were preserved over months or years. The effect also seemed to fade within about an hour. The best reading of the evidence is that CO2 therapy may help the brain’s natural waste-clearance machinery remove excess pathological tau, while leaving necessary tau in place, but that remains an assumption until larger trials test cognition directly. Researchers will need to show not just that tau leaves the brain, but which forms of tau are being cleared and whether repeated treatment preserves memory rather than disrupting it.

2 articles · Updated · New Scientist · Jul 21

Twelve participants who alternated normal air with 5% carbon dioxide every 35 seconds for 30 minutes showed higher blood beta-amyloid 15 minutes later, suggesting the protein had been flushed from the brain.
Brain scans indicated the intermittent CO2 made blood vessels dilate and constrict like they do during deep sleep, boosting the glymphatic waste-clearance system while people were awake.
Tau clearance also appeared to improve, but only in the four participants with elevated tau markers and mostly mild cognitive impairment; the amyloid and tau effects had returned to baseline about an hour later.
No side effects were reported in the small study, but researchers and outside experts said long-term safety and any effect on Alzheimer’s risk or progression remain unproven, and warned against trying CO2 inhalation at home.
The team says the approach could eventually extend beyond Alzheimer’s to other disorders tied to protein buildup, including Parkinson’s disease, if larger studies confirm benefit.

Sources

New Scientist4h ago

Small Study: Intermittent High-Dose CO2 Inhalation Clears Alzheimer's Proteins from Brain

HuffPost UK5h ago

Dr. Sephira Ryman's Research Shows CO2 Clears Tau Proteins in Alzheimer's Study

If some tau protein is vital for memory, can CO2 therapy clear toxic buildup without also erasing our long-term memories?

Can simple breathing exercises from yoga safely replicate the brain-cleaning effects of a new CO2 dementia therapy?

Can Controlled CO2 Inhalation Boost Brain Waste Clearance? New Research, Risks, and Future Directions for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Overview

Recent research led by Sephira Ryman has revealed that manipulating carbon dioxide (CO2) levels may help enhance the brain’s natural waste clearance system, known as the glymphatic system. This system, which surrounds blood vessels and collects waste from brain cells, is most active during deep sleep. During this time, slow brain waves cause blood vessels to rhythmically dilate and constrict, acting like a pump to clear waste. By increasing CO2, researchers can mimic this pumping action while awake, offering a promising new approach to support brain health and potentially address neurodegenerative conditions.

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