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The Power of Concentrated Oxygen
For the past 6 months, we have been treating our autistic son in a hyperbaric, enriched air chamber with very promising results. Based on the research by Dan Rossignol. To see the article, go to the Downloads and Multimedia page where you can check it out and even download it if you wish.
Hyperbarics and Barron
Barron and his Mom, Jen
When we first chose to look into hyperbarics for Barron, we had the choice of either traveling to Toronto for the treatment (not logistically possible due to the frequency of treatments required) or purchasing a hyperbaric chamber (financially challenging, but possible). We opted for the second choice and purchased the identical setup as was used in the Rossignol et al studies.
When we first set up the chamber, we were worried that Barron would not want to get into the chamber. That concern was quickly allayed when Barron climbed into it when our backs were turned. Turns out he loves the fort-like quality of the chamber!
Our first few dives actually set off an upsurge of some of Barron's autistic symptoms, such as head banging. Ironically enough, we have come to recognize this as a positive sign when starting a new regime and by the end of the week, our suspicions were confirmed...
Barron's vocalizations and babbling, which had started to decrease, started to increase again! Over the next couple of months we would see the following benefits:
As we learned more about hyperbaric therapy, we have been continually surprised about how much great research there is out there for the use of hyperbarics in numerous conditions. While Health Canada recognizes only 13 conditions that can be treated by hyperbarics (most of them related to diving type injuries and anoxia/CO poisoning), the World Health Organization (WHO) lists close to 40 conditions that are amenable to hyperbaric therapy.
Conditions as diverse as Autism, MS, Stroke, Concussion, Cerebral Palsy, Tissue trauma, Rheumatic Conditions and Post-Surgical Recovery all respond well to hyperbaric therapy. What I find surprising is that despite very compelling research, these are still considered "off label" indications in North America.
When we first set up the chamber, we were worried that Barron would not want to get into the chamber. That concern was quickly allayed when Barron climbed into it when our backs were turned. Turns out he loves the fort-like quality of the chamber!
Our first few dives actually set off an upsurge of some of Barron's autistic symptoms, such as head banging. Ironically enough, we have come to recognize this as a positive sign when starting a new regime and by the end of the week, our suspicions were confirmed...
Barron's vocalizations and babbling, which had started to decrease, started to increase again! Over the next couple of months we would see the following benefits:
- A large increase in cognition (he can now use an iPad with alarming fluidity)
- Much more assertive (he now is very clear about what he want and gets help when he needs it)
- Better eye contact, socializing and cuddling
- Doesn't overwhelm in a socially busy and stimulating environment. Prior to this, social events, especially with young, screechy kids used to really blow him out.
- Much better at following directions and sequencing
- More responsive to verbal prompting and increased listening skills
- Better use of language and learning words. This is still his biggest challenge, but it's become an area of slow but steady improvement, whereas before it had flatlined. We also found the addition of ambrotose to be very helpful for his speech.
As we learned more about hyperbaric therapy, we have been continually surprised about how much great research there is out there for the use of hyperbarics in numerous conditions. While Health Canada recognizes only 13 conditions that can be treated by hyperbarics (most of them related to diving type injuries and anoxia/CO poisoning), the World Health Organization (WHO) lists close to 40 conditions that are amenable to hyperbaric therapy.
Conditions as diverse as Autism, MS, Stroke, Concussion, Cerebral Palsy, Tissue trauma, Rheumatic Conditions and Post-Surgical Recovery all respond well to hyperbaric therapy. What I find surprising is that despite very compelling research, these are still considered "off label" indications in North America.
How can enriched air, under increased pressure affect all these different conditions?
At the time that I'm writing this, the mechanisms of HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) seem to have 3 primary modes of action:
1) Injured cells require extra oxygen to heal up and function properly. This is especially true for neural tissue, which is very oxygen hungry. Researchers talk about the "penumbral region" of a neurological injury. When neural tissue is injured (by stroke, trauma or inflammation) there is an area of cells that die, but there is often a much larger area of cells that are under-functioning. These under-functioning cells are still alive, but can't fire properly which in turn, cause them to appear to be dead, when in reality, they are still alive.
When these cells are exposed to the increased oxygen, they can start to heal up and function properly. This healing seems to happen fairly quickly from the imaging studies that I have seen. I believe that this is what caused Barron's initial increase in babbling and cognition.
2) The second action is systemic inflammation reduction. No one is really certain as to why this is. The increase in oxygen stimulates an increase in glutathione production (a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant molecule produced by the body) which may explain part of it. Another important aspect of this is that inflamed tissue tends to become hypoxic (oxygen deficient), which in turn increases it's inflammation - it's a vicious cycle. By adding more readily accessible oxygen to the body, it can heal and start to shut off some of it's inflammatory processes. As a person with arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), I can vouch for the anti-inflammatory effects of the HBOT. It's also amazing at reducing post-workout soreness!
The time frame for the inflammation reduction seems to be around 2-3 weeks, with 1-3 days of potential increase in inflammation at the beginning due to the increased oxygen free radical production (this can be alleviated by a good antioxidant supplement).
3) Increased stem cell production. Some studies have documented an up to 8 fold production of stem cells from hyperbaric chamber use. This to me, is particularly exciting as it represent not just repairing what has been damaged but means there is a potential for true regeneration. Many people have started to use hyperbarics as a potential anti-aging tool because of this stem cell effect. Nobody knows why this is happening with the HBOT at this time.
The time frame for the increase in stem cells is in months. The increase is often first noticed at the 4-6 week mark which is why many of the people in the HBOT studies who continue past the study parameters (many HBOT studies are 4-6 weeks in duration) continue to show additional gains.
Below, I've posted a combination of videos and precis of sections from The Textbook of Hyperbaric Medicine.
1) Injured cells require extra oxygen to heal up and function properly. This is especially true for neural tissue, which is very oxygen hungry. Researchers talk about the "penumbral region" of a neurological injury. When neural tissue is injured (by stroke, trauma or inflammation) there is an area of cells that die, but there is often a much larger area of cells that are under-functioning. These under-functioning cells are still alive, but can't fire properly which in turn, cause them to appear to be dead, when in reality, they are still alive.
When these cells are exposed to the increased oxygen, they can start to heal up and function properly. This healing seems to happen fairly quickly from the imaging studies that I have seen. I believe that this is what caused Barron's initial increase in babbling and cognition.
2) The second action is systemic inflammation reduction. No one is really certain as to why this is. The increase in oxygen stimulates an increase in glutathione production (a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant molecule produced by the body) which may explain part of it. Another important aspect of this is that inflamed tissue tends to become hypoxic (oxygen deficient), which in turn increases it's inflammation - it's a vicious cycle. By adding more readily accessible oxygen to the body, it can heal and start to shut off some of it's inflammatory processes. As a person with arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), I can vouch for the anti-inflammatory effects of the HBOT. It's also amazing at reducing post-workout soreness!
The time frame for the inflammation reduction seems to be around 2-3 weeks, with 1-3 days of potential increase in inflammation at the beginning due to the increased oxygen free radical production (this can be alleviated by a good antioxidant supplement).
3) Increased stem cell production. Some studies have documented an up to 8 fold production of stem cells from hyperbaric chamber use. This to me, is particularly exciting as it represent not just repairing what has been damaged but means there is a potential for true regeneration. Many people have started to use hyperbarics as a potential anti-aging tool because of this stem cell effect. Nobody knows why this is happening with the HBOT at this time.
The time frame for the increase in stem cells is in months. The increase is often first noticed at the 4-6 week mark which is why many of the people in the HBOT studies who continue past the study parameters (many HBOT studies are 4-6 weeks in duration) continue to show additional gains.
Below, I've posted a combination of videos and precis of sections from The Textbook of Hyperbaric Medicine.
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Our Hyperbaric equipment
Here is a video of our hyperbaric equipment. We use the same equipment that was used on the multi-centre, placebo controlled, double blind Rossignol et.al. study that showed such promising results.
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Autism
BMC Pediatrics 2009 Article:
Several uncontrolled studies of hyperbaric treatment in children with autism have reported clinical improvements. 62 children with autism received 40 hours of hyperbaric treatment. After 40 hours, mean physician CGI scores significantly improved in the treatment. This study consisted of 52 boys and 10 girls, which is consistent with the male/female ratio observed in children with autism. For background information autism along with asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder- not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), comprise a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders (collectively termed autism spectrum disorders or ASD) that are characterized by restrictive and repetitive behaviors along with impairments in communication and social interaction. The number of children diagnosed with ASD has increased over the last decade [2 -4] and ASD currently affects as many as 1 out of 150 individuals (U.S.A.). The use of hyperbaric treatment in children with ASD has increased in recent years [7] and traditionally involves inhaling up to 100% oxygen at a pressure greater than one atmosphere (atm) in a pressurized chamber. In children with autism, the use of hyperbaric treatment using pressures up to 1.5 atm and 100% oxygen, at 60 minutes per session, has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated. |
Autism Ct'd
Cerebral hypoperfusion, especially of the temporal lobes, is a very common finding in children with autism compared to typically-developing children, affecting up to 75%. This hypoperfusion is an indirect measure of diminished brain activity because cerebral blood flow is normally tightly coupled to brain metabolic rate and function. Several studies have reported that the anatomical location of hypoperfusion significantly correlates with certain autistic behaviors.
Hyperbaric treatment can overcome the effects of cerebral hypoperfusion and hypoxia: by increasing the plasma oxygen tension which transfer more oxygen into tissue, including the brain, decreasing cerebral edema. Several case reports in children with autism have described improved cerebral perfusion after hyperbaric treatment. Hyperbaric treatment possesses strong anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to significantly decrease neuroinflammation. Conclusions of this study: Children with autism who received hyperbaric treatment for 40 hourly sessions had significant improvements in overall functioning, receptive language, social interaction, eye contact, and sensory/cognitive awareness. Given the positive findings of this study, parents who pursue hyperbaric treatment for their child with autism can be assured that it is a safe modality, and it may improve certain autistic behaviors. So to conclude, in light of the positive results of this study and those of several previous studies, the use of hyperbaric treatment appears to be a promising treatment for children with autism. |
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Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy is a chronic neurological disorder that can be due to several causes of brain damage in utero, in the perinatal period, or postnatally. Between 20-25 of every 10,000 live born children in the Western world have the condition (Stanley 2000)
Conclusions Cerebral Palsy is the result of a large variety of causes, and it is difficult to design trials with subgroups of patients with similar pathomechanisms. The results of several studies have been presented including one controlled study that did not show any improvement in neuropsychological status. Cognitive improvement is usually seen by the 40th treatment in patients with chronic neurological disorders such as CP (Golden 2002) |
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis is a progressively disabling disease associated with multiple demyelinating lesions of the central nervous system. The exact cause is not known, but there is evidence for failure of oxygen delivery.MS is a disease of the nervous system caused by intermittent breakdown of the BBB, inflammation, and hypoxia. There is a strong circumstantial evidence that the common cause of the disease is microembolism due to failure of the pulmonary filtration of circulating debris, including fat (James1982) Canada is known as having a prevalence rate of MS that is among the highest in the world. In Ontario it is 230 per 100,000.
Rationale for HBO Therapy (1) The focal edema that characterizes lesions typical of MS increases the diffusion distance for oxygen and provides a sound rationale for increasing the oxygen concentration of the plasma under hyperbaric conditions. This increases the gradient for transfer into the tissue. The effectiveness of HBO in the reduction of global cerebral edema has been demonstrated by direct measurement in man. (Sukoff&Ragatz1982) and Rockswold (1992).have shown that HBO reduces the mortality of severe head injury by 50%. In 1986 Neubauer showed the effect of HBO on the edema associated with MS.They found that one or more lesions shown on MRI disappeared in 11 of 35 patients after 1 hour of treatment, which suggests that it is the resolution of focal edema that accounts for the improvement. |
MS Continued
Administering oxygen under hyperbaric conditions allows a substantial increase of plasma oxygen tension despite paradoxically reducing blood flow and this improves the gradient for oxygen transport to tissue enabling the relief of severe tissue hypoxia and resumption of normal aerobic metabolism in acute areas affected by the disease process.
(2) It also reduces inflammation by down regulating the transcriptional protein hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF 1a) this protein which is continually produced by every cell is normally destroyed by the action of the Von Hippel Landau protein (VHL). Falling oxygen levels reduces the level of VHL leading to an increase of HIF 1a, which in turn upregulates the inflammatory response. Conclusions The findings of all the long term studies of established MS patients suggest that regular HBO favorably influences the course of the disease. This implies that treatment should be instigated as soon as the condition is diagnosed and before irreversible lesions have become established. (Perrins & James 2005).The response has been shown to be better in patients with less advanced disease and is related to the frequency and continuity of treatment. There are no side effects. |
Stroke and Trauma
Stroke is the term used to describe the sudden onset of a neurological deficit such as weakness or paralysis due to disturbance of the blood flow to the brain. A completed (established) stroke is an acute, nonconvulsive episode of neurologic dysfunction that lasts longer than 24 hours. A “transient ischemic” or “cerebral infarction” attack is a focal, nonconvulsive episode of neurologic dysfunction that lasts less than 24h, and often less than 30 minutes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines stroke as “rapidly developing clinical signs of focal (or global) disturbance of the cerebral function with symptoms lasting 24h or longer or leading to death, with no apparent cause other than of vascular origin” (WHO MONICA Project, 1990). Conclusions to HBO treatments showed that: All patients with neurological deficits due to occlusive cerebrovascular disease showed a response to HBO at 1.5 ATA by measurable increases of power of handgrip on the paralyzed side. The response to HBO was initially transient but reproducible with sessions repeated daily. After 6 weeks the improvement was maintained in most of the patients. The peaks of response to HBO got smaller as the plateau of maximum improvement was reached. When there was no further measureable response to HBO, the treatments were terminated. |
Stroke and Trauma Ct'd
The benefit from HBO was limited by the size of the penumbra and the total neuronal damage done during the insult.
The spasticity was reduced during the HBO session and improvement maintained for longer periods if physical therapy was carried out simultaneously. Some of the improvement in motor power was due to relief of spasticity, but considerable improvement was also noted in patients without spasticity. Patients who respond to HBO and are considered candidates for EC/IC bypass operation may improve with long-term HBO therapy and may not require surgery. HBO, by improving oxygenation, may be more effective than an EC/IC bypass. HBO therapy should be instituted early in the management of stroke. Those treated within 3 months of initial episode did not develop spasticity Patients should be treated with HBO in the first week following the stroke. Stroke is the third leading cause of hospital admissions in most industrialized countries and accounts for 10% of all deaths. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation there are over 50,000 strokes in Canada each year. That is one stoke every 10 minutes. For every 100,000 Canadian Children under the age of 19 years there are 6.7 stokes, About 300,000 Canadians are living with the effects of stroke. After age 55, risk of strokes doubles every 10 years. For every minute delay in treatment, the average patient loses 1.9 million brain cells |
