What Researchers Did
Researchers reviewed past studies that looked at whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy could improve thinking skills in older adults with brain damage.
What They Found
Early studies by Jacobs et al. suggested that hyperbaric oxygen therapy improved cognitive function and general behavior in patients with chronic organic brain damage. However, Goldfarb et al. (1972) found no evidence to support these improvements, noting that their subjects were more severely impaired. The review identified several significant flaws in the designs of these studies, making their findings inconclusive.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
This review's primary limitation is that it critiques studies from the early 1970s, whose significant methodological weaknesses made their findings on HBOT and cognitive function inconclusive.