The Journal of Neuroscience has just published a study identifying key elements in the brain that are stimulated with light therapy for regulating neuronal functioning to help benefit patients with Alzheimer's disease <view study> Read Less

This study published in the Journal of Pain, recognizes past clinical data for the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in models of pain. Here they looked at daily application of hyperbaric oxygen for 1 week and evaluated physiological changes that may explain the analgesic effects of hyperbaric therapy. The results showed a reduction in numerous inflammatory markers, along with pain relief. By understanding the mechanism, HBOT may get more wide use for being a safe and effective way to reduce inflammatory pain <view study> Read Less

This study followed mice that were exposed to light therapy following plantar incision. The results demonstrated an analgesic effect from the application of light therapy and the authors went over some of the pathways involved in gaining this response <view study> Read Less

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is widely used as an effective off-label use for stroke victims. Research has found that this therapy not only targets oxygenation of the effected area and reduces inflammation, but also has been shown to promote bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) to proliferate and mobilize, which essentially becomes an important part of the neurogenic (nervous system growth) effects that have been demonstrated from hyperbaric procedures. Mobilization of these BMSCs to the damaged areas were more improved in long course hyperbaric treatments, suggesting the duration of therapy is crucial for promoting their neurogenic effects.

It is important to also note that emerging stem cell research has clearly demonstrated that BMSCs secrete brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the addition of anti-BDNF neutralising antibodies to MSC-conditioned medium attenuated its neuroprotective effect <view study>

This study also looked at the release of BDNF and found that a 3 week course of HBOT was able to produce significantly higher levels of BDNF and GDNF, than shorter 2 day course of HBO. These results indicated that longer and repetitive HBO therapy promoted more neurotrophic factor production, including BDNF and GDNF. <view study> Read Less

Hypoxic tumors (tumors with low oxygen levels) are noted as one of the main reasons for failure to control malignant tumors with radiation therapy. Since hyperbaric oxygen improves oxygen supply to hypoxic tumors, thus increasing their levels, hyperbaric oxygen has sound clinical grounds for being used alongside radiation therapy. This study published in the International Journal of Clinical Oncology goes over the rationale for using this combination in more detail <view study> Read Less