Responsesource.com - New oxygen therapy could be a breath of hope for head injury victims
Oxygen therapy, originally designed to treat deep sea divers suffering from rapid decompression injuries (commonly known as the ‘bends’) could have a new part to play in the treatment of traumatic brain injuries.
Preliminary studies carried out at the Oklahoma State University Center for Aerospace and Hyperbaric Medicine have indicated that pressurised oxygen therapy (or hyperbaric therapy) could help those suffering from brain injuries. Although in its very early stages, the treatment has already been successful in treating returning veterans from war zones who have been injured by improvised explosive devices or are suffering the effects of Post Traumatic Stress.
The Center has already had some success in small studies and through anecdotal evidence that treatment using pressurised oxygen shows a marked improvement in those suffering from brain injuries, with a reduction in headaches, sleep disturbance and depression. The project is part of a larger study, which more than 1,000 subjects will take part in over the next four years.
Helping the brain to heal itself
The treatment works on the basis of taking a Brain Injury patient to an oxygen pressure of 1.5 atmospheres at least 40 times. The theory is that this will saturate the brain with oxygen and help the brain injury to heal. Hyperbaric therapy is already widely used for diabetic wounds, but is an area that is only just beginning to be explored because of the lack of available pressurised oxygen units. “If the studies continue to be as positive as the preliminary reports suggest, this could be a major breakthrough in the treatment of serious brain injuries,” comments Matthew Dixon of serious accident specialists Serious Law. “There is some exciting research being done into the use of different treatments for serious brain injury, and a non-invasive treatment such as this could offer victims some real hope for a better recovery,” he adds.
Finding its place as a treatment therapy
Hyperbaric therapy is a relatively new concept and until recently has been confined to the treatment of divers suffering from the bends, where bubbles of nitrogen become trapped in the blood and tissue. However, thanks to the research now being done by the OSU Center and other research teams, it could find a place treating a wider range of injuries and conditions, including serious brain injury. “It’s remarkable to think that all the brain might need to make a better recovery from a serious injury is a few sessions in a decompression chamber,” adds Matthew Dixon of Serious Law. “Obviously, there’s still a great deal of research to be done on this particular form of treatment. But if the preliminary indications are anything to go by, the treatment could mark a new phase in brain injury therapy that will work alongside other forms of treatments to give a more holistic approach to recovery,” he adds.
Currently, the therapy is being used to treat soldiers who have suffered traumatic injury as the result of battlefield injuries. But if the wider study is successful, it could be recognised as an official treatment in the US and lead to continuing research and development around the world.
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