According to a new study, people
suffering from brain injury after stroke may benefit from HBOT
(Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy). This therapy is given to scuba divers
when suffering from “the bends”.
This therapy is a new method for the treatment of brain damage that
may help patients who suffer from brain injury after stroke or any
other kind of trauma.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel, employed HBOT in 74
patients who had suffered stroke, and whose conditions didn’t show
improvement any longer for six months to three years after the
stroke. HBOT is carried out inside an oxygen chamber in which the
pressure is very high. The therapy heightens the level of oxygen in
the body about tenfold. Shai Efrati, MD at Tel Aviv University, led
the study. It was hypothesized by the researchers that such
increased levels of oxygen may revive the inactive nerve cells in
the post-stroke patients’ brains.
The therapy seemed to help. After conducting hyperbaric oxygen
therapy for two months, increased activity was seen in the brain
images in case of the treatment group in comparison with the
non-treatment, control group. Visible improvements were also shown
by the patients, like renewed use of language, enhanced sensation,
and paralysis reversal.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Autism
The findings of the study were published in PLOS ONE. The findings
indicate that HBOT is a viable option for treatment of post-stroke
patients, even for patients in case of whom it may appear that it’s
too late for any additional treatment. No participants were included
in the study in case of whom three years had passed after the
stroke, however, researchers believe that similar results would be
seen for patients in case of whom stroke had taken place far
earlier.
The study findings pose a challenge for the prominent paradigm, as
they show that it is possible to activate neuroplasticity for years
and months post severe brain injury, hence showing that the brain’s
various aspects remain plastic in adulthood, stated Eshel Ben-Jacob,
Tel Aviv University’s professor, one of the people working in the
study. He said this in one of the university’s releases.
Hyperbaric therapy seems to help in restoring brain activity by
offering a significant energy boost to the brain cells. The brain
obviously receives oxygen through normal breathing, however, that
oxygen is not sufficient for repairing brain damage. HBOT offers
about 10 times the normal oxygen amount, which enables the brain
cells move to high-gear, as said by Dr. Efrati. This rebuilds the
brain connections and stimulates the inactive neurons.
Stroke & Hyperbaric Chambers HBOT
Currently, Efrati and team are testing HBOT on patients affected by
traumatic brain injury. The therapy might also prove to be
beneficial in the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease at
the early-stage. Moreover, a study done in 2012 discovered that HBOT
is helpful in slowing type 1 diabetes progression in mice.
Efrati outlined in the release of Tel Aviv University: “It is now
understood that many brain disorders are related to inefficient
energy supply to the brain,”. “[Hyperbaric oxygen therapy] could
right such metabolic abnormalities before the onset of full
dementia, where there is still potential for recovery.