Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Used To Treat TBI
In August 2005, Brigadier General Patt Maney was patrolling Afghanistan when a road side bomb exploded in front of him. He survived the explosion, but suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury. “I was having trouble articulating, finding words and articulating thoughts and symptoms even," Maney said. "I knew I couldn't do things that used to be simple.” Although there is no cure for TBI, researchers at Louisiana State University have found a treatment used in scuba diving accidents as a possible solution. After none of the usual standard treatment helped Maney, he agreed to try the experimental option LSU suggested, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. After 80 treatments of breathing pressurized pure oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber he saw dramatic improvements. “It has improved my cognition, my word finding, my balance,” Maney said. “I had tremendous balance problems, I'd just fall over.” Paul Harch, M.D., a clinical assistant professor at LSU School of Medicine, has studied the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on more than 500 patients including those with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s. He found that over time high does of oxygen stimulated the brain to repair itself. “What we see is a general improvement in the majority of those functions, a return to pre-injury status. It turns their lives around,” Harch said. Brigadier General Patt Maney now works as a judge in Florida. He said he hopes hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be used to treat some of the nearly 400,000 soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with brain injuries. Unfortunately, since the hyperbaric oxygen therapy is considered experimental, the $200 per treatment cost is typically not covered by insurance.
