What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Autism?

[micO]

 By Lisa Jo Rudy, About.com,     Updated: December 5, 2007

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for autism? Is it an effective therapy?

A hyperbaric chamber is a pressurized, oxygen-filled chamber or tube. It's an effective tool for treating the "bends" (a disorder among SCUBA divers who surface too quickly, causing oxygen bubbles in the bloodstream). Over the years, medical researchers found a number of additional therapeutic uses for the chambers, which force large quantities of oxygen into the body very quickly. For example, hyperbaric therapy (HBOT) can speed the development of blood vessels, thus improving outcomes for certain types of wounds, gangrene, cardiac illnesses, and other conditions. Typically, HBOT is conducted in a hospital setting, in a large non-portable chamber, under high pressure. In recent years, some doctors theorized that HBOT could improve symptoms of autism by increasing oxygen intake and thus reducing inflammation and hypo-perfusion (lack of oxygen) in the brain. Of course, there is no agreement within the scientific community that inflammation or lack of oxygen cause autism - or are even generally associated with autism. To investigate the possibility that HBOT could treat symptoms of autism, Dr. Daniel Rossignol has begun a series of studies. Those studies are still in the very earliest stages. The most that can be said is that they offer some support for continuing, larger studies. 

 Despite the lack of scientific evidence for HBOT as a useful treatment for autism, anecdotal evidence and word-of-mouth have made this an increasingly interesting option to parents of children with autism. "Home" oxygen chambers and expensive courses of HBOT treatment are being offered by various practitioners with anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes. Because this treatment has not been scientifically verified, it seems premature to get involved. According to Rossignol, there are risks of side effects when using HPOT, including ear pain, reversible myopia (nearsightedness), and seizures. If parents do decide to consider HBOT before more research is completed, however, it makes sense to do so in the context of a formal autism clinic or children's hospital - both to ensure proper methodology and to reduce the risk of side effects.

Learn more:

• _{Hyperbaric oxygen therapy - Autism Wiki}
• _{Oxygen therapy for kids with autism debated} 
•  _{Hyperbaric Therapy Center} 

 

[storkdok]

Nov. 22, 2008 at 7:51 AM

Michal, this is just another quackery perpetrated on autistics by the quack DAN practitioners.  For one thing, the chambers they use that are portable do not even deliver more oxygen than what you can get from a nasal cannula on 6 liters of oxygen.  You could go to one of the "oxygen bars" in NYC and get the same oxygen amount.  A lot cheaper, too. 

My dh routinely uses higher doses of oxygen and other gases delivered during anesthesia.  He laughs at the "articles" of Rossignol, they are not even technically correct, which is why they were "published" in a hack "scientific" journal, Medical Hypothesis, which is not peer reviewed.  Anyone can get anything published in that journal, it is full of crappy science.

These guys are making millions of dollars off of desperate families.  They  have no conscience.  At least they are not using true HBOT, which could cause very serious injuries if used incorrectly and injudiciously.

I have further links with an article here.

[micO]

Nov. 22, 2008 at 10:50 AM

That is why I added the links at the bottom of this article, which weren't added to the original article- they talk about the fact that this is NOT a proven research, and talk about the debate about this issue in order to warn parents.
I wanted to show both sides because this matter was brought to my attention a few times by people  (just this week); people who believed the doctors right away and thought that this is going to be THE treatment for them and for their kids. I wanted to show that even though there are talks about this as a treatment, there are also talks about it as one more Nonesense added to the mix.

(Original Poster)