Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Cerebral Palsy Patients

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment that requires the inhalation of 100 percent oxygen inside a pressurized chamber (greater than sea level) for a prescribed amount of time. HBOT causes both mechanical and physiologic effects by inducing a state of increased pressure and hperoxia. You are probably familiar with its use in treating scuba divers with "the bends." It has also had success in treating burns and difficult healing wounds. HBOT facilitates healing in these conditions by increasing the amount of oxygen in the blood by up to 2000 percent thus increasing how much oxygen is in the cells throughout the body. The increased oxygen greatly enhances the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria, reduce swelling and allow new blood vessels to grow into the affected areas. It is a non-invasive and painless treatment. Recently HBOT has been used in the treatment of patients who have brain injury, cerebral palsy and stroke. In the case of cerebral palsy in children, HBOT is administered at 1.5 ATA or equivalent to a depth of 16.5 feet below sea level. The length of treatment varies but typically in the first phase of treatment, the patient may have 40, 1-hour HBOT treatments.

The goal is to reduce swelling in the brain though it can not recover tissue which has been destroyed. Through SPECT imaging, areas of the brain which are not destroyed but are "sleeping" can be identified. Because the lack of oxygen leads to tissue swelling, HBOT could help resolve this issue by constricting blood vessels and delivering more oxygen to tissues in the brain.