BrainandSpinalCord.org - The Slavica BioChem division of Hard to Treat Diseases, Inc. (HTDS) recently presented results from their hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) chamber study for treatment of traumatic brain injury. The positive results were presented to the 8th World Congress on the Brain Injury in Washington, DC in March, put on by the International Brain Injury Association. The gathering is the largest of its kind in the world. This yearÕs meeting was the most heavily attended ever, featuring therapists, social workers, medical professionals, psychologists, and researchers from all over the world, a PR Newswire article reported.
The head scientist of HTDS, Dr. Sanja Pekovic, said in the article, ÒThis Congress was an excellent opportunity to get insight into the state-of-the-art research, covering all from the basic science to the clinical aspects of brain injury, as well as for establishing important contacts with international professionals involved in the brain injury research and the care of people with acquired brain injury.Ó He added that the conference was a perfect venue to present the results of the Serbian teamÕs hyperbaric oxygen chamber animal trials for brain injury treatment.
While rats were used in the study, the same hyperbaric oxygen chambers used for humans were used in the experiment. Slavica Biochem conducted the study in conjunction with researchers from the Hyperbaric Medical Center at the School of Medicine at University of Belgrade in Serbia. The results of the study were promising and added new data upon their previous positive achievements.
Dr. Pekovic continued, ÒOur previous experiments showed that repetitive HBO treatments significantly reduced neuronal loss and degeneration, suggesting that HBO was able to attenuate the effects of brain damage by reducing the progression of neuronal injury,Ó the article reported. He added that his teamÕs most recent study Òrevealed new beneficial effects of HBO treatment on glial scarring and inflammatory processes after traumatic brain injury.Ó The positive results did not end there.
Pekovic asserted that HBO treatments reduced inflammation in the brains of the rats in the study and suggested that HBO be used for brain injury recovery as soon as it becomes available for such use. Pekovic ended by calling HBO chambers an Òattractive therapeutic tool for improving recovery from head injury.Ó With any luck, the treatments will become widely available sooner than later.
Click here to view article online
