The BART Foundation aims to promote better outcomes for brain injury survivors by answering three questions – which alternative therapies are likely to work, where can they be found, and how can they be afforded? One of the ways we fulfill our mission is by carefully watching global research and clinical trial outcomes and sharing that information, in user-friendly language, with the TBI/ABI community.
We wanted to share this article written by Bruce I. Goderez, MD, and published in Volume 36, Issue 5 (May 28, 2019) of the Psychiatric Times. In this piece, Dr. Goderez asserts that HBOT can dramatically improve many neurological conditions for which we have had very little to offer other than palliative care. There is published literature supporting HBOT’s efficacy for TBI, including human trials and animal research, but due to the impossibility of arranging sham pressure with the HBOT chamber, there are no rigorous double-blind placebo-controlled trials. As a result, HBOT is not FDA-approved for TBI, and insurance will generally not pay for it. Entrenched skepticism on the part of the greater medical community and lack of insurance coverage has made it very difficult for patients to access treatment.
In the article, Dr. Goderez provides a brief review of the mechanisms through which HBOT triggers healing responses, with particular reference to the modern understanding of the pathophysiology of TBI, and provides a theoretical framework to explain these claims. We encourage everyone who is investigating HBOT as a treatment modality for TBI/ABI to review this article and reach out to us with any questions.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is one of the safe, alternative therapies the BART Foundation believes may help brain injury survivors. Perhaps if HBOT becomes more widely accepted as a treatment option, TBI/ABI/PCS survivors will be able to gain better access to this life-changing treatment.
Guidestar Seal of Transparency
