What Researchers Did
Researchers treated nine rheumatoid arthritis patients with 30 hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions over six to ten weeks and monitored their MRI findings at three and six months.
What They Found
All nine patients received 30 hyperbaric oxygen treatments. At both three- and six-month follow-up scans, all nine patients demonstrated no radiologic progression of erosions, synovitis, or bone marrow edema based on OMERACT RAMRIS criteria.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients with rheumatoid arthritis, hyperbaric oxygen therapy could potentially offer an alternative or adjunctive treatment option. This may help in preventing the progression of joint damage and inflammation.
Canadian Relevance
This study does not have a direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
A significant limitation of this pilot study is its very small sample size of nine participants.