What Researchers Did
Researchers gave seven patients with disturbed consciousness after a head injury a series of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatments and measured blood flow and metabolism in the brain before and after.
What They Found
This small trial of seven head injury patients measured brain circulation and metabolism using ultrasound and blood samples taken from the jugular vein, before and after five HBO treatments at 2.7 atmospheres absolute for 60 minutes each, once every 24 hours. Two measurements, the pulsatility index (a marker of blood vessel resistance) and jugular venous lactate (a marker of metabolic stress), were significantly lower after the HBO treatments. Two other measurements, mean flow velocity and the arterio-jugular oxygen difference, did not change significantly. The researchers concluded that the drop in pulsatility index and lactate suggests HBO therapy links changes in brain circulation with changes in brain metabolism.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
The study included only seven patients and had no control group receiving standard care without HBO, so the changes seen cannot be attributed to HBO alone with confidence.