The Role of HBOT in Treating Traumatic Brain Injuries
The pressurized air floods the body with pure 100% oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber. It differs from regular breathing because oxygen can be delivered directly to blood plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and bones.
This therapy has been used for years to treat non-healing wounds, carbon monoxide poisoning, and decompression sickness in deep-sea divers. Recent studies show HBOT is effective for treating traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
It Increases Oxygen Levels
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy allows the body to absorb more oxygen than it usually does. This oxygen stimulates the growth of new blood vessels, bone tissue, and nerve cells. It also kills anaerobic bacteria that can cause infection and increases the sensitivity of white blood cells to destroy them.
A few hours of HBOT at 1.5 ATA doubles the number of the body’s own circulating stem cells (which are responsible for generating new cells to replace those that die or become damaged). It is due to the HBOT-induced nitric oxide production, which stimulates enzymes mediating stem cell release.
The patient lies in a large chamber pressurized with 100% oxygen during treatment. Patients wearing clothes that create a spark, jewelry, or perfume must remove them before entering the section. Other precautions include avoiding food or drink before a treatment session and using mouthwash to avoid lactic acid build-up in the throat.
It Relieves Inflammation
Inflammation is the body’s natural response to tissue damage, but it can become problematic when overproduced in brain regions. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy floods the body with highly concentrated oxygen, which can infiltrate areas of hypoxia and disarm the harmful molecules that trigger inflammation.
HBOT also prevents “reperfusion injury,” which is the severe damage caused when blood flow returns to tissues deprived of oxygen for extended periods. It encourages oxygen radical scavengers to remove destructive molecules and allows healing.
HBOT was first used in the 1940s to treat deep-sea divers with decompression sickness, and it is currently used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning and soft tissue damage. It involves breathing 100% pure oxygen in a special chamber designed to hold one person, and the pressure is raised to be three times greater than what the lungs experience at sea level. Most health insurance plans, including TBI, cover hyperbaric oxygen therapy for carbon monoxide poisoning and soft tissue wounds.
It Reverses Bacterial Infections
Many patients who experience traumatic brain injuries have also been battling infection at the same time. Bacterial infections can quickly spread to areas of the body that don’t receive enough oxygen, such as the brain and spinal cord. HBOT increases the amount of oxygen in the blood, improving blood flow and stimulating tissue growth and repair.
It can also help prevent bacteria from releasing deadly toxins that poison the body. It can even boost white blood cells, making them more effective at detecting and killing rogue bacteria.
The problem is that it needs to be easier to perform randomized, double-blind studies on the effects of HBOT on TBI. That’s because the severity and affected regions of the brain vary from person to person, making it hard to find people with similar symptoms and injuries. Also, finding a safe and effective placebo for a clinical study is challenging. To overcome these obstacles, researchers have devised a method of increasing air pressure but keeping the same amount of oxygen.
It Improves Cognitive Function
A patient enters a chamber that is pressurized using pure oxygen. The pressure is usually 2-3 times greater than the normal atmospheric pressure (1 ATA). The brain is flooded with oxygen, stimulating neuroplasticity and improving cognitive function.
Many studies have shown that HBOT significantly improves symptom and cognitive outcomes in patients with mTBI who have persistent postconcussion syndrome (PCS). These improvements are correlated with increased brain activity on single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain imaging scans.
The improvement in cognitive function is found across all ages and TBI severity groups, although the results are more pronounced for those with lower baseline scores. It indicates that HBOT can help patients with chronic cognitive impairment. This improvement is associated with a decrease in the duration of symptoms and a return to normal daily activities. It also relates to improved quality of life and decreased need for long-term care.
