Brain injuries are fast becoming one of the signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghantistan. Now, some San Antonio researchers are trying a cutting edge way to treat these wounded warriors. It involves oxygen.
A sudden blast. A bone-rattling jolt. Soldiers who have fallen victim to bombs set off in the war on terror say it's an experience that rocked their world.
"I remember hitting my head on the roof and then coming down and eating the steering wheel and then after that, I really don't remember anything besides laying on the ground and having the doc ask me if I was okay, described John, a Marine who suffers from a traumatic brain injury.
Microscopic damage has been causing a disturbing array of symptoms he can't ignore. Reflexes, response time, that's kind of delayed. I have a terrible memory, slight hearing loss. Slight loss of vision in one of my eyes," John said.
John has volunteered for a study at Brooks City Base. He's heading into a hyperbarics chamber, the kind originally used to help divers with the bends. Now, it's a state-of-the-art treatment for wound healing.
The idea is that a high concentration of oxygen in the blood will stimulate healing of injured brain tissue. But no one knows for sure. "We don't know if it will help or will not help," said Dr. George Wolf, a hyperbarics medicine researcher. "The oxygen in a higher level gets to the metabolic side of the cell and jumpstarts it back into a more functional mode.
50 Marines, soldiers, airmen and seamen with traumatic brain injuries will go through this program over the next year. They'll sit in the hyperbarics chamber 30 times, about two hours at a time. After they're finished, scientists will try to gauge if itŐs had any kind of positive impact on their cognitive ability.
24-year-old Brian is another injured Marine trying to help his fellow soldiers by testing hyperbaric therapy. He's a blast victim who wasn't diagnosed with a brain injury until months later.
"Bad reflexes. Memory loss," described Brian. "Can't remember anything unless I write it down."
A series of cognitive tests help determine if the oxygen treatment is going any good. These young men and women don't even know if they're getting the real treatment or not. But they're willing to gamble on a solution to their frustrating problems.
"I hope the study does well," Brian said. "I hope they gather all the information they need to. Hoping it helps other people out."
Even if it helps, hyperbarics won't be a solo therapy for these wounded warriors. But if it works in conjunction with drugs and therapy, this could become an important treatment for thousands of civilians, too."
"God willing, we'll have a positive study," Wolf said.
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