Hyperbaric chamber treatments did not help with mild TBI

Scientists found no significant benefit to a popular idea of using a pressurized chamber to force oxygen into the brain to heal mild brain injuries suffered by tens of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans, according to a scientific study by the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs published this week.

"There's no magic bullet," David Cifu, VA national director for physical medicine and rehabilitation services. "We wished it worked. ... But it didn't work."

The study results leave the military and the VA without any tool for directly treating an injury characterized as a "signature wound" of the two wars.

Some troops exposed to several roadside bombs during operations had more than one mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion from exposure to blasts.

More than 230,000 troops have suffered mild TBI since 2000, according to the Pentagon. Ten percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at the VA report ongoing mild brain injury symptoms such as headaches, light sensitivity and problem-solving deficits.

The hyperbaric chamber thought to be an answer is identical to decompression chambers used to treat divers suffering from the bends or decompression sickness.

A group of private doctors contend they have used hyperbaric chambers to successfully treat mild brain injury. There have been some research showing that the treatment improves survival rates in cases of severe brain injury.

Adherents say that breathing pressurized oxygen raises oxygen levels in the brain, boosting the health of damaged cells and improving brain function. Several members of Congress have backed the concept.

In response, the Pentagon and VA in 2009 launched a series of four research efforts to test the assertion. The latest study, published this week in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, is the second and mirrors findings from the first published 2011. Both found no significant benefit from using the chamber on troops.

Subjects in the latest study were 60 Marines who had suffered mild brain injuries from exposure to roadside bombs, mortars or rocket-propelled grenades. Some were administered various pressurized levels of oxygen, others were merely provided pressurized levels of normal air as a control group.

See the original post:
Hyperbaric chamber treatments did not help with mild TBI