People still believe that hyperbaric oxygen therapy only works at higher pressures. Most of them are only practicing with higher pressure protocols and have not taken the time to go through the steady influx of all the recent data and research making its way into current medical journals and publications. If they did, they would very quickly be able to see that lower pressures can provide very powerful effects, and sometimes even more powerful than those observed with higher pressures; the latter was just the case in a landmark study released in 2013. This study was published in the UHMS journal (a mainstream, peer reviewed, hyperbaric medical journal) and looked at the difference between 2.4 ATA (higher pressure HBOT) and 1.5 ATA (lower pressure HBOT). The results were stunning in virtually all areas observed. Researchers observed 92 inflammatory genes and this is what they quoted:

"Interestingly, oxygen at 1.5 atm abs affected many genes much more strongly than oxygen at 2.4. The reasons for this effect are unknown, but it does raise questions about the most appropriate treatment pressures for inflammatory conditions"

It was landmark study for lower pressure protocols, because it clearly demonstrated that the lower pressure protocols (1.5 ATA) had much stronger effects in the inflammatory genes observed than the higher pressures (2.4 ATA). <view study>     Read Less

“Children with autism who received hyperbaric treatment at 1.3 ATA and 24% oxygen for 40 hourly sessions had significant improvements in overall functioning, receptive language, social interaction, eye contact, and sensory/cognitive awareness compared to children who received slightly pressurized room air...” <view study> Read Less

16 military subjects received a 'typical dose' of low pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy (40 sessions at 1.5 ATA for 60 min HBOT within 30 days) for mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries. After treatment, they demonstrated significant improvement in impulsivity, mood, anxiety, quality of life scores, and more. Their SPECT brain scans showed remarkable overall improvement in blood flow These results were confirmed with brain imaging scans which showed  remarkable improvements in blood flow to these regions of the brain, following the course of treatments. <view study> Read Less

Currently, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a valuable hospital tool for diabetics with chronic non-healing wounds and is a therapy that is reserved for late stages of diabetics. With recent literature supporting the use of HBOT for earlier onset, this new study gives us further hope that hyperbaric oxygen should be used for early stage diabetes and not just reserved for later stages. Here, it was shown that obese, diabetic rats given HBOT enhanced glucose and lipid metabolism in the skeletal muscle. Since obesity runs rampant in the diabetic population, and the concomitant effects of blood sugar elevation damaging the small blood vessels of the body, HBOT may prove as a valuable resource for diabetics, not only for its aid in cardiovascular disease and wound healing support, but for also lowering the levels of blood sugar; thereby, causing less damage in the body <view study> Read Less

Though hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not an FDA-approved treatment for autism, there are progressively, and exponentially, more autistic families that are seeking out hyperbaric therapy for their children, and some claim amazing benefits. The purpose of this review was to analyze the data and studies and try to help shed more light as to some of the key mechanisms of actions <view study> Read Less