Thursday, December 15, 2011

Hyperbaric Oxygenation in the complex treatment of patients with aneurysms of the cerebral vessels

From Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics

www.hbot4u.com

Hyperbaric Oxygenation in the complex treatment of patients with aneurysms of the cerebral vessels


Zh Vopr Neirokhir Im N N Burdenko 1980
Jul-Aug;(4): 49-54
[Article in Russian]

Ugriumov VM, Elinskii MP, Rafikov AM, Kesaev SA

Experience in the use of Hyperbaric Oxygenation (HBOT) in 56 neurosurgical patients with cerebral vascular aneurysms, mainly in the postoperative period, testifies to the expediency of including this method in the complex of therapeutic measures for these patients. The deep oxygenation of the body tissues, the brain included, produced by HBOT makes it possible to prevent in many cases the development of severe and stable neurological defects in the postoperative period and contributes to the normalization of vitally important functions.

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

New Study Reaffirms: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Should Be Standard Treatment for Veterans


- Welcome to the Alliance for Natural Health – USA - http://www.anh-usa.org -
New Study Reaffirms: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Should Be Standard Treatment for Veterans
Posted By ANH-USA On December 6, 2011 @ 1:00 pm In Uncategorized | 15 Comments
So why does the government keep blocking its use?
Research from health pioneer (and former ANH-USA board member) Dr. Paul G. Harch published in the Journal of Neurotrauma [1] indicates that hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, is able to dramatically help veterans with post-concussion syndrome (a form of traumatic brain injury) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. Harch is an associate clinical professor of medicine at Louisiana State University in New Orleans.
Since January 2007, ANH-USA has been bringing attention to a project to have veterans treated with HBOT [2]. In HBOT, the patient is put in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which saturates the tissues with twelve times more oxygen than can be absorbed by breathing. This greatly enhances the body’s own healing process.
Under normal circumstances, oxygen is transported throughout the body only by red blood cells. With HBOT, oxygen is dissolved into all of the body’s fluids, the plasma, the central nervous system fluids, the lymph, and the bone, and can be carried to areas where circulation is diminished or blocked. In this way, extra oxygen can reach all of the damaged tissues and the body can support its own healing process. The increased oxygen greatly enhances the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria, reduces swelling, and allows new blood vessels to grow more rapidly into the affected areas. It is a simple, non-invasive, and painless treatment.
According to Dr. Harch’s new study [3], even three years after the vets sustained brain injury, one month of HBOT was able to induce improvements in brain blood flow, cognition, symptoms, and quality of life, while the veterans experienced fewer suicidal thoughts.
Specifically, improvements were seen in 92% of vets experiencing short-term memory problems, 87% of those complaining of headaches, 93% of those with cognitive deficits, 75% with sleep disruption, and 93% with depression. There were also improvements in irritability, mood swings, impulsivity, balance, motor function, IQ, and blood flow in the brain, as well as the reduction in PTSD symptoms and suicidal thoughts. And there was
a reduction in—or complete elimination of—psychoactive and narcotic prescription medication usage in 64% of those previously prescribed the medication.
One major problem is that the HBOT treatment is currently “off-label.” In other words, it is an FDA-approved treatment for some conditions [4]—but not for traumatic brain injury (TBI) or PTSD. Because of this, the Department of Defense does not allow HBOT to be prescribed for its veterans—they say they don’t prescribe off-label medications and treatments for these diagnoses, and claim that they can only use HBOT after it has been approved by the FDA for this use [5].
This is a completely false and misleading statement! The Department of Defense often uses off-label antipsychotic drugs for treatment of TBI and PTSD. This should not surprise us. The FDA receives a large proportion of its budget from pharmaceutical manufacturers. And the government turns to drugs, often very inappropriate and damaging drugs, to treat damaged veterans without even considering alternatives.
Nearly 280,000 individuals received antipsychotic medication [6] in 2007. Yet over 60% of them had no record of a diagnosis for which these drugs are approved. Antipsychotic drugs were prescribed off-label for PTSD (42% of the patients), minor depression (40%), major depression (23%), and anxiety disorder (20%)—with about 20% having more than one condition. About 20% of veterans diagnosed with PTSD [7]—or nearly 87,000 patients—are prescribed an antipsychotic each year even though it is an off-label use.
TBI and PTSD severely and disproportionally affect military who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan—approximately 546,000 have TBI, post-concussion syndrome (PCS), and PTSD [3], and yet their treatment options are limited. HBOT is an effective and economical treatment for PCS and PTSD, without the very dangerous and negative side effects of antipsychotic medication.
The off-label use of HBOT is a huge freedom of choice issue in medicine. But even more important, if we really want to support our troops rather than just pay lip service, don’t we need to give them the safest, most economical, and most effective treatment for their traumatic brain injuries and PTSD?
Article printed from Welcome to the Alliance for Natural Health – USA: http://www.anh-usa.org
URL to article: http://www.anh-usa.org/study-reaffirms-hbot-for-veterans/
URLs in this post:
[1] published in the Journal of Neurotrauma: http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/neu.2011.1895
[2] a project to have veterans treated with HBOT: http://www.anh-usa.org../../../../../treating-brain-injured-iraq-war-veterans/
[3] According to Dr. Harch’s new study: http://www.hbot.com/blog/edward-lucarini/lsuhsc-research-shows-rx-hyperbaric-oxygen-improved-tbi-ptsd-vets/11/30/11
[4] an FDA-approved treatment for some conditions: http://www.hbot.com/indications
[5] claim that they can only use HBOT after it has been approved by the FDA for this use: http://www.votesmart.org/public-statement/426407/hearing-of-the-defense-subcommittee-of-the-house-appropriations-committee-defense-health-program
[6] Nearly 280,000 individuals received antipsychotic medication: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19723731
[7] 20% of veterans diagnosed with PTSD: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20110802/study-antipsychotic-drug-does-not-help-veterans-with-ptsd

New Study on Brain Injury


New Study on Brain Injury!

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/neu.2011.1895

The Magic Number


The Magic Number 40


Forty sessions has come to be a benchmark in this therapy, not solely in the treatment of ASD, but rather in treating all conditions characterized by hypoxic tissue. It is theorized that this is the number of treatments necessary to ensure angiogenesis has occurred. In the past, physicians would notice “backsliding” or regression with most patients who had undergone less that thirty sessions. On the other hand, patients having undergone forty sessions would not display symptoms of “backsliding”. Today, with new knowledge regarding increased stem cell activity and sophisticated brain imaging equipment, it is easy to paint a picture as to what was occurring. Recent research has demonstrated that after only ten sessions an eight fold increase in stem cell activity can be measured; in particular, CD34 stem cells which will produce new capillaries. The formation of such capillaries can be seen between 15-20 sessions and the completion of such capillaries appears to occur between 30-40 sessions; hence the Magic Number 40. Of course, this process is continually underway and new capillaries are just beginning at 20 sessions, 30 sessions, 40 sessions, etc. One would assume that as long as hypoxic tissue remains in the body; stem cell activity would remain heightened, angiogenesis would continue, and tissue perfusion would continue to normalize. In fact, in a study conducted with CP, stroke, and traumatic brain injury patients; it was demonstrated that throughout 70 sessions the rate of improvement in cerebral oxygenation increased during the last 35 treatments. For this reason, it is not uncommon to see treatment protocols continue beyond the initial forty-session sequence; parents are often advised 60-80 initial sessions prior to pausing, ending, or lessening the frequency of treatment.

Frequency is Key and OXYGEN Pressure and Depth!~

There is much debate surrounding the optimal pressure in treating cerebral hypoperfusion related conditions such as Autism. Case histories and research both report positive findings from pressures ranging 1.2 ATA to 2.0 ATA. In addition, it becomes even more confusing as 100% oxygen is delivered Best results have been demonstrated through daily and twice daily treatment protocols.

Different Depths are designed for many disorders:

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Please be sure to copy entire link!

Monday, December 5, 2011

CRPS- Balance Health Today Article 2009

Balance Health Today Article 2009


Susan Rodriguez, a certified hyperbaric specialist from San Bernardino, California, believes that to understand how HBOT works for CRPS, you need to understand the disease itself. “CRPS is neurological in nature and yet it manifests itself in physical symptoms,” she says. “What that means is that the disease needs to be treated with two approaches. One goal is to restore circulation, reduce inflammation or edema, and remove the swelling in affected limbs so the limbs can live. The other goal—if you want to eliminate the disease—is to work on the brain.”

If you were to stub your toe, for example, the central nervous system would tell your brain that your toe hurts. This pain is rooted in a physical injury. But sometimes trauma and inflammation mysteriously trigger a reaction from the sympathetic nervous system, which is a different part of the brain. With CRPS, pain is read through sensors in the sympathetic nervous system. (The sympathetic nervous system is what is activated in phantom leg pain, for example.) “Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy, however, can make the switch in the brain back to the central nervous system,” Rodriguez says. Under a doctor’s direction, she treats both the affected limb and the brain by different atmospheric pressures when the patient is inside the chamber.

“Different undersea depths work on different parts of the body,” she explains. “Deeper depths (up to 33 to 45 feet undersea) work more on tissue and bone, while milder hyperbarics (such as 18 to 24 feet undersea) work on the brain. Since we are working on both things, I take patients to all those levels. Almost always, the first symptom to come is the last to go. And then the symptoms are gone!”

Rodriguez learned about the effectiveness of HBOT therapy in treating CRPS first hand, when her husband Patrick was diagnosed in the mid-1990s following surgery. Because she had already been working in this field, they decided to try Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy to treat his CRPS. Not only is Patrick working today, but he has become a certified hyperbaric technician. The couple opened Rapid Recover Hyperbarics in 1998, with Donald Underwood, DO, MD, JD, serving as medical director.

A physician should review all aspects of a patient’s medical history before starting therapy. There are a few medical conditions that may prevent an individual from receiving HBOT — either permanently (certain lung and heart disorders) or temporarily (sinus infections, fevers).

“I have seen some very dramatic improvements,” says Rodriguez. “In some cases we have seen improvements to the point of a remission.” she says. “Nothing works for everyone, but I’ve seen this work for many people if they stick with it.”

Sunday, December 4, 2011

“Oxygen and the Dark Ages”

“Oxygen and the Dark Ages”

Contact us for more information

Hyperbaric1@earthlink.net

www.hbot4u.com


Astonishment at the reaction of doctors to the words 'hyperbaric', 'oxygen' and 'therapy' is frequently expressed on the lists. The public find most doctors dismissive and some openly hostile. This attempts an explanation.

The primary reason is that the teaching about oxygen in our medical schools is inadequate, especially in these areas.

  1. The importance of barometric pressure in determining oxygen dosage.
  2. Understanding that the plasma concentration alone determines the rate of transport of oxygen into tissue.
  3. The most essential function of blood flow is to transport oxygen.
  4. Oxygen not only acts in relation to metabolism it acts as a modulator of many cellular functions.
  5. That most diseases affect not only the cells of a tissue, but also the blood supply.
  6. That both a decrease and an increase in blood supply can cause hypoxia, defined as a deficiency in the level of oxygen required for normal function.
  7. That an adequate level of oxygen is essential to recovery in disease.

Educationally, Epictatus (3 BC) understood the problem; "It is impossible to learn something that we think we already know".

Regardless of the intellectual aspects, to admit ignorance about an issue of such central importance is very emotionally challenging. It is to admit that we are failing to use enough oxygen and that patients are suffering and dying unnecessarily from our failure to use a simple method of treatment, but we are truly in the dark ages.

Best wishes
Philip James MD

Wolfson Hyperbaric Medicine Unit
University of Dundee
Ninewells Hospital and Medical School
Dundee DD1 9SY