What Researchers Did
Researchers investigated the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on parental reported behavioral changes and cytokine levels in ten children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
What They Found
All ten children showed improvement, with a 2-point increase on the clinician-rated CGI-I scale and improvements on several parent-completed behavioral measures after 80 sessions of HBOT. However, children did not have abnormal cytokine levels at baseline, and no significant changes in mean cytokine levels were observed following HBOT. The study found no evidence that HBOT affected cytokine levels or that cytokine levels were associated with behavioral changes.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
Key limitations include the small sample size of ten children, the lack of a control group, and the variable nature of cytokines.