Improvement in cerebral metabolism in chronic brain injury after hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

While no research study has yet demonstrated convincing evidence for the efficacy of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) in patients with chronic neurological disorders (CND), anecdotal studies have been supportive of its use in improving healing of the damaged brain. The current study hypothesized that (1) individuals with CND show increases in cerebral blood flow and metabolism as measured by Single Positron Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in the cerebral hemispheres, but not on measures of cerebellar and pons blood flow; and (2) younger patients show more improvement than older patients. The study used archival data to compare 25 older and 25 younger subjects who were given SPECT scans pretherapy, midtherapy, and posttherapy.