Dr. Paul Harch, Clinical Professor and Director of Hyperbaric Medicine at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Dr. Edward Fogarty, at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine, report the case of the reversal of brain volume loss in a two-year-old drowning victim unresponsive to all stimuli treated with normobaric oxygen (oxygen at sea level) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).
The report is published in Medical Gas Research, available here.
The two-year-old girl experienced cardiac arrest after a cold water drowning accident in a swimming pool. After resuscitation at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, MRI revealed deep gray matter injury and cerebral atrophy with gray and white matter loss. She had no speech, gait or responsiveness to commands with constant squirming and head shaking at hospital discharge.
The patient and family then traveled to New Orleans where 78 days post-drowning, Dr. Harch began treating her with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. She “dove” in a hyperbaric chamber for 45 minutes a day, five days a week for 40 sessions. At the beginning of each session, the patient showed visually apparent and/or physical examination-documented neurological improvement. After 10 HBOT sessions, the patient’s mother reported that her daughter was “near normal” except for gross motor function, and physical therapy was re-instituted. After 39 HBOT sessions, the patient exhibited assisted gait, speech level greater than pre-drowning, near normal motor function, normal cognition, improvement on nearly all neurological exam abnormalities, discontinuance of all medications, as well as residual emotional, gait and temperament deficits. Gait improvement was documented immediately upon returning home. An MRI at 27 days following HBOT session 40 and 162 days post-drowning demonstrated mild residual injury and near-complete reversal of cortical and white matter atrophy.The synergy of increased oxygen and increased oxygen with pressure in the hormone-rich environment in a child’s growing brain is consistent with the synergy of growth hormones and hyperbaric oxygen caused by normobaric and hyperbaric oxygen-induced activation of genes that reduce inflammation and promote cell survival.
“The startling regrowth of tissue in this case occurred because we were able to intervene early in a growing child, before long-term tissue degeneration,” notes Harch. “Although it’s impossible to conclude from this single case if the sequential application of normobaric oxygen then HBOT would be more effective than HBOT alone, in the absence of HBOT therapy, short duration, repetitive normobaric oxygen therapy may be an option until HBOT is available. Such low-risk medical treatment may have a profound effect on recovery of function in similar patients who are neurologically devastated by drowning.”
Learn more: O2 & Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Reverses Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler
The Latest on: Hyperbaric oxygen and oxygen therapy
[google_news title=”” keyword=”hyperbaric oxygen and oxygen therapy” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy saves man from getting leg and foot amputated: All about the therapyon May 11, 2024 at 5:30 am
Ken Leslie, from Chicago, underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Ingalls Memorial Hospital, preventing potential amputation of his right leg and foot.
- Shock trauma's hyperbaric chamber ready 24/7 to treat Key Bridge collapse responderson May 3, 2024 at 1:24 am
The Center for Hyperbaric and Dive Medicine operates out of R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
- CūtisCare Launches Fourth Annual Hyperbaric Aware™ National Campaign To Elevate Awareness Of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapyon May 1, 2024 at 1:15 pm
Since its inception in 2021, Hyperbaric Awareness USA™, a CutisCare initiative, has designated May Hyperbaric Awareness Month and is proud to announce the launch of the fourth annual Hyperbaric Aware™ ...
- I tried 60 minutes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the first time — here’s what happened to my bodyon April 26, 2024 at 10:30 pm
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a rehabilitation method that increases oxygen intake in a pressurized chamber to boost energy, exercise recovery and reduce fatigue.
- I tried 60 minutes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the first time — here’s what happened to my bodyon April 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
They might look like futuristic time machines, but hyperbaric oxygen chambers are right here, right now. If you haven’t seen or used one before, this oxygen-rich therapy increases oxygen uptake ...
- Check Your Health- Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen to Help Heal Certain Health Issueson April 26, 2024 at 4:34 am
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy means breathing 100% oxygen at pressures two to three times greater than normal. This process dissolves more oxygen in the bloodstream and delivers it to every part of ...
- Oxygen therapy helps to promote healingon April 9, 2024 at 5:00 pm
CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Hyperbaric treatment is an oxygen-infused treatment that allows more oxygen into the bloodstream to help wounds heal faster. Local resident Antonina Cardinalli was ...
- Hyperbaric oxygen chambers have seemingly magical healing powerson May 12, 2023 at 11:33 am
As hard as it might be to believe, studies of hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy shows these claims aren't very exaggerated. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers are enclosed spaces that deliver 100% pure ...
via Google News and Bing News