Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

[jimcaster]

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been discussed on this forum before, but I still find it intriguing. I watched a news story today regarding a former National Football League player (Packers great Dave Robinson) who underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat brain damage from concussions. Apparently, it has great anti-inflammatory benefits. I couldn't copy and paste a link so here's an excerpt from an article which also piqued my interest.

Parkinson's and Hbot What Benefits Can I Expect from Oxygen Therapy for Parkinson's Disease? One‐two Punch: Glutathione and Hbot Hyperbaric Oxygenation during the Complex Treatment of Parkinsonism Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment on a Parkinson's Disease Patient: a Case Study

Julian M. Whitaker, V. Y. Neretin, +11 authors Shirachi Dy

Parkinson's disease or PD is a disorder of the central nervous system that impairs motor skills, speech and other mental functions. PD belongs to a group called movement disorders. These disorders typically produce muscle rigidity, tremor and a general slowing of physical movement. PD affects adults of all ages but is not considered fatal. However, late‐stage Parkinson's may lead to choking, pneumonia or serious falls, all of which can cause death or disability.

What HBOT can do The symptoms of Parkinson's can vary in type and severity therefore it can be difficult to predict results. Often HBOT has been discovered effective by " accident " as in the case where a diabetic patient tried HBOT for a foot ulcer but found that the treatment vastly improved his Parkinson's symptoms. After 50 years of HBOT treatment we do know that hyperbaric oxygen will not worsen PD. Numerous animal studies have shown that HBOT works as an anti‐inflammatory and may be used in this way to alleviate the symptoms of PD. Extensive animal research has demonstrated a non‐specific chronic inflammatory condition in the substantia nigra of the brain.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has been shown to be an anti‐inflammatory drug in many conditions. Anecdotal evidence of many patients with well established PD have been treated with HBOT for other conditions such as diabetic foot ulcers. For example, a patient with advanced PD who is confined to a wheelchair may get up and walk across the room after a series of HBOT. Since every patient is different it is hard to predict the result in each individual case. However, we know from 50 years of experience that HBOT is safe and will not make the patient worse.

The usual course of oxygen therapy is once daily, five days a week (M‐F) for eight weeks. If a significant response is noted after 40 HBOT additional treatments may be helpful.

Parkinson's disease is caused by the degeneration of neurons in the area of the brain that manufactures dopamine, a neurotransmitter that affects movement. As dopamine production drops, characteristic tremors and speech, balance, and motor problems develop. The primary treatment for Parkinson's is drugs that replace or mimic dopamine, and though these meds improve symptoms, they do not slow disease progression and their side effects increase with long‐ term use.

[bepo]

When George was first diagnosed with PD, I researched what treatments would be beneficial, and we went to Whitaker Wellness in California. There George had many HBO treatments. Unfortunately, they are not covered by insurance, and the few hospitals that offer that treatment use them only for diabetic wounds. There are some private clinics in the states that offer HBO treatments.

Dr. Whitaker suddenly had to shut down his practice. I imagine the FDA shut him down. They are an arm of the pharma/chemical industry. He practiced mostly non pharmaceutical approaches to chronic diseases. He had patients from all over the world.

Ozone treatments will produce some of the same benefits as HBO.

[bepo]

When George was first diagnosed, George went to Whitaker Wellness and had Hyperberic treatments. They were only approved, through a hospital, for diabetic ulcers and other difficult to treat wounds. He was newly diagnosed and it would have been difficult for us to quantify any progress.It would have been good to continue the therapy. We now do ozone.

One thing:

Everyone who entered the clinic with chronic disease, which was everyone, was checked for heavy metals.

[Shalomyy]

Hi jimcaster, I have also read that HBOT is great for PD. I am so glad you are mentioning it here. I live in South Texas, USA, and it is hard to find places that will give HBOT treatments except for FDA approved cases, however, there are parts of the country where HBOT is more accessible like Tampa, FL.

Looking forward to hearing more PD patients being able to get this therapy and feeling better! Shalom!

[Erniediaz1018]

There’s been some advancements in the past few years

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Improves Parkinson's Disease by Promoting Mitochondrial Biogenesis via the SIRT-1/PGC-1α Pathway

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/356...