Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has received a lot of attention over the past 20 years for helping patients following traumatic events. Though this therapy is not part of the approved medical treatments for traumatic brain injuries, both clinical research data and case reports have documented that there is a potential benefit from this procedure. Of late, mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI's) have been in the news, due to the increasing understanding and concerns with concussions, particularly with athletes in sporting events. This study took 56 patients who had prolonged post-concussion syndrome following 1-5 years post mTBI. A "typical" program of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (this HBOT protocol included 40 treatment sessions (5 days/week), 60 minutes each, with 100% oxygen at 1.5 ATA) was given to the treatment group, which demonstrated significant improvements. These results led the researchers of this study to conclude that "HBOT can induce neuroplasticity leading to repair of chronically impaired brain functions and improved quality of life in mTBI patients with prolonged PCS at late chronic stage" <view study>     Read Less

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is currently a recognized treatment for osteonecrosis. This is a condition where their is reduced blood flow and consequent breaking down of the bone. This study looked at the relationship of osteoclasts and hyperbaric oxygen exposure. Osteoclasts are cells that break down bone and are in constant battle with osteoblasts, which are cells that build bone. The results showed that hyperbaric exposure caused a significant reduction in osteoclasts formation and subsequently resulted in reduction in bone loss <view study> Read Less

The chemotherapy drug Gemcitabine, is used for treating certain cancers, including advanced pancreatic cancer. It delivers oxygen to the tumors and thus makes the chemo drug more toxic to the targeted cancer, allowing a greater cancer killing effect. This results of this study (published in the anticancer research journal) confirmed this effect, and showed a significant enhancement of Gemcitabine’s cancer killing effect when hyperbaric oxygen therapy was applied concurrently <view study> Read Less

This study looked at physiological changes that  occurred in the brain with the application of hyperbaric therapy following traumatic brain injury. They noticed an improvement in the blood-brain barrier, a reduction in inflammation and inflammatory proteins, a reduction in both swelling and the size of the damage, and more importantly an improvement in neurological status including motor and cognitive function <view study> Read Less