July 27 2010
Cerebral Palsy
Study Dispels Inflated Costs and Biases
In this case, Less is More ...
IRVINE, Calif., July 27
/PRNewswire/ -- A new study on treating Cerebral Palsy with Hyperbaric
Oxygen Therapy is making waves in India and the U.S. The largest
sample of children studied to assess neuro-developmental improvements
focuses on a combination of standard rehabilitation therapies,
such as Occupational, Physical, Speech Therapies and HBOT. HBOT
raises the oxygen molecule content in the body through oxygen-carrying
blood cells and all body fluids. A person enters a treatment
chamber, and the air pressure is compressed with more molecules
of air and oxygen. Lately, HBOT has garnered much attention in
the media, with athletes using it to train and recover from injuries,
diabetics literally saving limbs, patients able to kill resistant
bacteria, and most recently, new applications in neurologybrain
injuries, traumas and disorders.
In fact, this new study
out of India compares the use of various hyperbaric pressures
with the use of (ambient) air alone or oxygen-enrichment in the
treatment of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). The study shows
that low pressure ambient air hyperbaric therapy (1.3 atmospheres-ATA)
is as or more effective than high pressure 100% oxygen (1.5 or
1.75 ATA) in the treatment of CP. The children were studied by
Dr. Arun Mukherjee, director of the UDAAN Disabled Children's
Center, a non-profit organization, recognized and aided by the
Indian Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
This landmark study, co-authored
with Dr. Pierre Marois (McGill University in Montreal, Canada),
further develops the 1999 ground-breaking McGill study (Lancet,
February 2001) by expanding the number of subjects and by implementing
an accurate placebo-control testing method. Subjects with a functional
diagnosis of spastic diplegia cerebral palsy received one of
four hyperbaric options, in addition to standard therapies: 1)
the placebo therapy (20 subjects); 2) hyperbaric therapy at 1.3
ATA breathing ambient air under pressure (36 subjects); 3) hyperbaric
therapy breathing 100% oxygen at 1.5 ATA (32 subjects); and 4
) 1.75 ATA with 100% oxygen (58). All subjects were reevaluated
at six months after conclusion of therapy to negate any traces
of the placebo effect. The study showed significant improvements
for all three groups receiving therapy (the placebo group showed
little or no improvement). There were no significant improvement
differences between the therapies, with a slight preference (cognitive
improvement) shown towards 1.3 ATA with air only.
These results, combined
with the McGill study, refute previous assumptions in the hyperbaric
industry that 100% oxygen under higher pressure is a superior
treatment, a false "more is better" treatment bias.
In the areas of cognitive development, the milder therapy does
not trigger the narrowing of the blood vessels (vasoconstriction)
in the brain in the way that the other therapies do, thus allowing
additional oxygen to pass through tissue unrestricted.
"It brings into focus
that the much more affordable mild hyperbaric therapy is an accessible
alternative to expensive high-pressure hyperbaric therapy and
does not compromise a patient's standard of care," Dr. Mukherjee
admits.
This study has far-reaching
implications for other neurological conditions as well. Facing
the sky-rocketing costs of treating traumatic brain injury for
recovering veterans, stroke, and autism, this study brings hope
to those families struggling to afford this greatly desired therapy.
Dr. Arun Mukherjee is Senior
Consultant in Internal Medicine, Majeedia Hospital, and Hamdard
University, New Delhi, India, and a member of the International
Hyperbarics Association.
www.ihausa.org
SOURCE International Hyperbarics
Association
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Cerebral
Palsy Study Dispels Inflated Costs and Biases
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July 25-27 2010
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