HBOT for Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

September 2000, Volume 38, Number 9, Pages 538-540

Article Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy for acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury S Asamoto1, H Sugiyama1, H Doi1, M Iida1, T Nagao2 and K Matsumoto3 1Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, Tokyo, Japan 2Department of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, Tokyo, Japan 3Department of Neurosurgery, Showa University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan Correspondence to: S Asamoto, Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, 4-5-10 Higashi-Yukigaya, Ohta-Ku, Tokyo 145-0065, Japan Abstract Study design: A retrospective study of spinal cord injury (SCI) treated with and without hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. Objectives: To report on the use of HBO in spinal cord injury. Setting: Neurosurgical Unit, Tokyo, Japan. Methods: Thirty-four cases of hyperextension spinal cord injury without bone damage and previous history of surgical intervention were divided into two groups, with (HBO) or without (non-HBO) therapy. The neurological findings at admission and their outcomes were evaluated by means of Neurological Cervical Spine Scale (NCSS) and the average improvement rates in individual groups were compared. Results: The improvement rate ranged from 100% to 27.3% with the mean value of 75.2% in the HBO group, while these values were 100%, 25.0% and 65.1% respectively in the non HBO group. Conclusion: In the HBO group, the improvement rate indicated effectiveness in acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord (2000) 38, 538-540.

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

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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

Brain Injury & Recovery with HBOT

Brain Injury and Recovery with Hyperbaric Oxygen

Hyperbaric Oxygen simply means oxygen given at increased barometric pressure.
The Problem:
The complex and almost continuous electrical activity of the brain is so discreet that we are unaware that it is the mechanism behind communication and thus intellectual and motor function. Brain injury can lead to a blockage of the electrical pathways.
Depending on the location of the injury, the brain's attempts to re-route through blocked pathways may cause frustrated discharges of activity known as seizures.

What Causes the Blockage?
SPECT scans (computerized brain mapping) show that not only does brain injury produce cell death, but it also reduces essential blood flow to a wider area of brain tissue surrounding the dead cells where signal re-routing might be expected to take place.
How Does This Happen?
After brain injury many blood capillaries around the area of cell death become torn open. The liquid part of the blood (the plasma) then leaks out, causing a swelling that may be very extensive. This reduces cerebral blood flow in the affected areas.
Reduction in blood flow means a reduction of essential nutrition (most vital oxygen), and a build up of waste products from local biochemical reactions (e.g. lactate and calcium), which shuts down normal cell function and further blocks pathways.
Why Doesn't Capillary Healing Happen?
If the capillaries are to heal, they desperately need oxygen. Unfortunately, the tiny tubules leading to the torn capillaries become constricted because of the damage.
This means that the red blood cells needed to bring the healing oxygen are too big to get through and simply get stuck in the "pipes." Thus, the plasma that is normally very low in oxygen continues to pour out, maintaining the swelling with all its related problems which, if left unattended, would last for a lifetime
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