scuba-sass
Wreckmaniac Extrordinaire
I found the following interesting, and thought others here might as well.
Happy Diving!
Scuba-sass
Source The Healthcare Advisory Board, Daily Briefing
03/11/2003
Debate grows over hyperbaric oxygen treatment for brain-injury patients
Growing accounts of hyperbaric oxygen therapy causing what seem like near-miraculous advances in brain-damaged children have spurred renewed interest in a treatment traditionally used to treat decompression sickness, stubborn wounds, and carbon monoxide poisoning, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Advocates of HBOT say that the treatmentwhich delivers pure oxygen at higher-than-normal pressures to patients in a sealed chambercan prompt dormant or damaged neurons in the brain to become reinvigorated. Reported improvements in children with cerebral palsy include increased motor skills and greater awareness of surroundings. In recent years, such reports have spawned a nationwide movement to improve research and recognition of the use of HBOT with disabled children, and more than 500 stand-alone hyperbaric centers have opened nationwide to meet increased demand. But most of the professional medical community remains skeptical about the treatment for brain-damaged children, saying that reports of benefit remain largely anecdotal. The largest study to date on HBOT for brain-damaged children found no difference between patients treated with the therapy and those treated with pressurized air to simulate sensation.
Some in medical community open to examining benefits
Still, the ongoing interest in HBOT as a treatment for brain injuries has prompted the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation to launch a $300,000 study comparing PET scans of children with cerebral palsy before and after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen. Meanwhile, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has commissioned a report surveying the evidence about HBOT and brain injury, and Congress has earmarked $1.1 million for a study of the therapy and cerebral palsy (Torassa, 3/9).
Happy Diving!
Scuba-sass
Source The Healthcare Advisory Board, Daily Briefing
03/11/2003
Debate grows over hyperbaric oxygen treatment for brain-injury patients
Growing accounts of hyperbaric oxygen therapy causing what seem like near-miraculous advances in brain-damaged children have spurred renewed interest in a treatment traditionally used to treat decompression sickness, stubborn wounds, and carbon monoxide poisoning, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Advocates of HBOT say that the treatmentwhich delivers pure oxygen at higher-than-normal pressures to patients in a sealed chambercan prompt dormant or damaged neurons in the brain to become reinvigorated. Reported improvements in children with cerebral palsy include increased motor skills and greater awareness of surroundings. In recent years, such reports have spawned a nationwide movement to improve research and recognition of the use of HBOT with disabled children, and more than 500 stand-alone hyperbaric centers have opened nationwide to meet increased demand. But most of the professional medical community remains skeptical about the treatment for brain-damaged children, saying that reports of benefit remain largely anecdotal. The largest study to date on HBOT for brain-damaged children found no difference between patients treated with the therapy and those treated with pressurized air to simulate sensation.
Some in medical community open to examining benefits
Still, the ongoing interest in HBOT as a treatment for brain injuries has prompted the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation to launch a $300,000 study comparing PET scans of children with cerebral palsy before and after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen. Meanwhile, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has commissioned a report surveying the evidence about HBOT and brain injury, and Congress has earmarked $1.1 million for a study of the therapy and cerebral palsy (Torassa, 3/9).
