What Researchers Did
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study, researchers investigated the prophylactic effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on migraine in 40 patients.
What They Found
Thirty-four patients completed the study, which found a non-significant reduction in weekly headache hours for the hyperbaric oxygen group compared to the control group.
Additionally, endothelin-1 levels in venous blood showed no difference between the groups after treatment.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients with migraine should be aware that this specific hyperbaric oxygen therapy protocol did not demonstrate a significant prophylactic benefit.
Therefore, current evidence does not support its use as a preventive treatment for migraine.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was not conducted in Canada, nor did it involve Canadian researchers or participants.
Study Limitations
A limitation of this study is the relatively small sample size of 34 patients who completed the trial, which may have impacted the ability to detect a significant effect.