New Hope for Brain Injured Patients
It has been estimated that close to 400,000 service members and veterans returning from the war in Iraq have suffered some degree of brain injury. Further, close to a third of all service members treated at Walter Reed Hospital have suffered some level of traumatic brain injury.
Until now, there has been no evidence that any form of therapeutic intervention aside from standard physical, occupational and speech therapy, could have any meaningful impact on the future outcome of these injured individuals.
A new study may change all that. My colleague Dr. Paul Harch, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans and Director of the LSU Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship Program, has published a study appearing in the October 12, 2007 issue of the journal Brain Research. The report summarizes his findings in treating a widely used rat model of brain injury using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). HBOT is the use of oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure as a pharmacologic treatment.
This is the same type of treatment used for decades to treat injured divers, carbon monoxide poisoned patients, and wound patients. Doctors around the world have for years successfully treated brain injured patients with HBOT with great success. And this study now adds further support for the use of this safe and effective modality as the findings of Dr. Harch’s study were profound. Brain injured rats treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy demonstrated a remarkable increase in cognitive function with improved spatial learning and memory compared to rats with similar injuries not having the treatment.
With the publication of this study, the American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF), in conjunction with the International Hyperbaric Medical Association, announced the Brain Injury Rescue and Rehabilitation Project (BIRR), which will coordinate efforts across the nation with clinics willing to treat our brain injured service members with hyperbaric oxygen. In addition, AAHF and IHMA are requesting $10 million from Congress to finance a human trial of HBOT in 400 veterans, a sufficient group for a meaningful randomized and controlled trial to further verify or refute these findings as they relate to humans.
To learn more about HBOT, please visit www.Perlhealth.com.