An Overview of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Children With Cerebral Palsy
HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy or hyperbaric medicine) is the medical use of oxygen at a concentration higher than atmospheric pressure.
Its more traditional uses have included treating decompression sickness (such as the bends in scuba divers), carbon monoxide poisoning and gas gangrene.
In recent years, it has been introduced as a form of treatment for people with cerebral palsy aimed at improving motor, visual and verbal skills.
And while it has yet to produce enough conclusive results to merit widespread recommendation and use, it is certainly worthy of further consideration.
HBOT is administered by having the patient enter a specially designed chamber where the oxygen content (air pressure) can be manually regulated.
Hyperbaric chambers are designed for patient comfort and the procedure is painless.
Patients can spend the 1-2 hour session reading, listening to music or watching television.
Once sealed inside the chamber, the air pressure is raised until the patient is breathing 100 pure oxygen.
Regular air is only about 20% oxygen.
Inside the chamber, the lungs take in roughly three times the normal amount of oxygen.
The higher intake is believed to aid in the regeneration and rehabilitation of damaged or non-functional cells.
HBOT is not without risk.
Extreme changes in air pressure can result in damage to the inner ear or pulmonary system (barotrauma).
Oxygen toxicity, fatigue, earaches, headaches and changes in vision can also be experienced during or just after HBOT.
The level of risk is not extreme, especially under qualified supervision.
While HBOT has proven invaluable in some medical situations, when it comes to using it to treat cerebral palsy, the results have proven inconsistent and controversial.
Two well-publicized studies declared the procedure to have positive results.
The first was a Canadian study during the late 80's that gathered 473 children suffering from spastic CP.
230 of the children were administered 20 HBOT sessions.
Six months later, 75 percent of the "treated" children were found to exhibit a better sense of balance and a lower rate of spastic convulsions.
The remaining 243 children were called the "control group.
" They also experienced 20 HBOT sessions over the same period of time, only at a lower atmospheric pressure.
The expensive study was criticized and dismissed because of their failure to present a true placebo/control group.
The second major study, a 1999 study by researchers at McGill University, treated 25 children with CP in a series of 20 HBOT sessions over a 30-day period and concluded that 16 of the children (approximately 67%) displayed noticeable improvements in muscle spasticity and movement.
Like other newer treatments and procedures, because hyperbaric oxygen therapy does not actually cure cerebral palsy and even its positive effects are deemed impermanent, it has been dismissed by many who believe the tremendous expense involved with HBOT could better be used exploring therapies that can be made available to a wider population of children with cerebral palsy.
In the end, it comes down to what you and your doctor think are the right therapies to improve the quality of life for your child.
Its more traditional uses have included treating decompression sickness (such as the bends in scuba divers), carbon monoxide poisoning and gas gangrene.
In recent years, it has been introduced as a form of treatment for people with cerebral palsy aimed at improving motor, visual and verbal skills.
And while it has yet to produce enough conclusive results to merit widespread recommendation and use, it is certainly worthy of further consideration.
HBOT is administered by having the patient enter a specially designed chamber where the oxygen content (air pressure) can be manually regulated.
Hyperbaric chambers are designed for patient comfort and the procedure is painless.
Patients can spend the 1-2 hour session reading, listening to music or watching television.
Once sealed inside the chamber, the air pressure is raised until the patient is breathing 100 pure oxygen.
Regular air is only about 20% oxygen.
Inside the chamber, the lungs take in roughly three times the normal amount of oxygen.
The higher intake is believed to aid in the regeneration and rehabilitation of damaged or non-functional cells.
HBOT is not without risk.
Extreme changes in air pressure can result in damage to the inner ear or pulmonary system (barotrauma).
Oxygen toxicity, fatigue, earaches, headaches and changes in vision can also be experienced during or just after HBOT.
The level of risk is not extreme, especially under qualified supervision.
While HBOT has proven invaluable in some medical situations, when it comes to using it to treat cerebral palsy, the results have proven inconsistent and controversial.
Two well-publicized studies declared the procedure to have positive results.
The first was a Canadian study during the late 80's that gathered 473 children suffering from spastic CP.
230 of the children were administered 20 HBOT sessions.
Six months later, 75 percent of the "treated" children were found to exhibit a better sense of balance and a lower rate of spastic convulsions.
The remaining 243 children were called the "control group.
" They also experienced 20 HBOT sessions over the same period of time, only at a lower atmospheric pressure.
The expensive study was criticized and dismissed because of their failure to present a true placebo/control group.
The second major study, a 1999 study by researchers at McGill University, treated 25 children with CP in a series of 20 HBOT sessions over a 30-day period and concluded that 16 of the children (approximately 67%) displayed noticeable improvements in muscle spasticity and movement.
Like other newer treatments and procedures, because hyperbaric oxygen therapy does not actually cure cerebral palsy and even its positive effects are deemed impermanent, it has been dismissed by many who believe the tremendous expense involved with HBOT could better be used exploring therapies that can be made available to a wider population of children with cerebral palsy.
In the end, it comes down to what you and your doctor think are the right therapies to improve the quality of life for your child.
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