Worldwide,
medical researchers are discovering promising results with the
effects of hyperbaric therapy on persons with Autism.
In one study, involving brain functionality and recovery for
children with chemical exposures exhibiting PDD disorders,
hyperbaric oxygen therapy was found to be remarkably effective.
Treatments consisted of 10 sessions in a hyperbaric chamber at 1.3
ATA, for one hour per day, five consecutive days for two weeks. To
increase validity to the study results, SPECT scans of each
patient’s brain were taken before and after the hyperbaric
treatments to quantify physical changes to the brain tissue.
The SPECT scan
showed an increase to blood flow and oxygen to the temporal lobe.
SPECT scans of patients taken before hyperbaric treatments showed a
significant amount of dormant activity while scans taken of patient
brains after hyperbaric indicated an increase in brain activity and
blood flow. After hyperbaric therapy, dormant brain regions were
replaced with greater functioning tissues and represented a scan
more similar to a healthy individual.
In another recent study, measuring the effects of hyperbaric oxygen
therapy on Autistic children ages 1-11 yrs, researchers found a
total effectiveness of hyperbaric in 93.6 % of study participants.
Researchers theorized that HBOT was effective in combating
autoimmunity and the viral aspects of these conditions when
encephalitis was present.
So the question is- how can hyperbaric help with Autism? Scientists
have varying opinions on why the therapy is so successful as a
treatment for the condition. Some theories suggest that the brain in
some persons with Autism, as well as Cerebral Palsy and other
neurological disorders, is lacking oxygen and in a dormant, or
sleeping state due to lack of blood flow.
Hyperbaric
forces oxygen into tissues throughout the body including brain
tissues and fluid, resulting in a re-awakening of dormant areas of
the brain. Other theories state that excessive swelling in the brain
results in a lack of oxygen causing cerebral impairment that can
cause behavioral problems, confusion, etc. Oxygen is forced into
these damaged areas, through the pressurization of hyperbaric, which
alleviates brain swelling by constricting blood vessels. In
addition, hyperbaric is thought to provide an optimal environment to
assist in the regeneration of brain tissue.
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