Treating Stroke Symptoms with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Several studies have provided evidence of the neuroprotection benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in cases of stroke.
Stroke is due to lack of blood flow to an area of the brain that causes brain tissue damage or death. Neurons are highly energy demanding, a characteristic which makes them vulnerable to decreased cerebral blood supply during stroke.
How can hyperbaric oxygen therapy help with Stroke?
Several studies have provided evidence of the neuroprotection benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in cases of stroke. It also has been shown that hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes bone marrow stem cell proliferation and mobilization to the ischemic areas of stroke in long courses of hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can also stimulate the expression of trophic factors and improve neurogenesis and gliosis which may help in neuronal repair after stroke. Preconditioning the brains of animals every other day with hyperbaric oxygen therapy caused a 50% reduction in brain damage following stroke.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be helpful due to its ability to improve brain tissue function by:
- providing abundant levels of plasma-rich oxygen to our brain tissue for healing
- reducing neuro-inflammation throughout our brain and body
- stimulating release of growth factors such as trophic factor to enhance neuroplasticity for the repair and regeneration of brain cells and their connections (synapses)
- stimulating growth of new blood vessels to supply the brain with greater circulation and oxygen to promote brain repair and regeneration by releasing greater amounts of vascular endothelial growth factor
- balancing our fight or flight and relaxation and digestion systems by strengthening the health of our autonomic nervous system, which impacts blood flow within our brain that may lead to cardiovascular changes, dizziness, headaches, slow processing, memory changes, temperature changes, easily stressed or overwhelmed, and many other symptoms
- increasing stem cell production for healing
- improving detoxification
- enhancing cerebrospinal fluid flow
Other benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a quickly evolving science and the full benefits are continually being discovered. HBOT increases the amount of oxygen in our bloodstream and increases circulation to deliver abundant amounts of oxygen to the brain, supersaturating our tissue with energy needed for healing, growth, and repair. This creates a healthier environment for our brain to work and control our autonomic nervous system. Because of this, the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be found in all parts of the body and in a wide range of ways. Some benefits can include:
- Faster healing from trauma
- Reduced inflammation
- Increased stem cell release
- Improved brain health
- Detoxification
- Improved autonomic nervous system function
- …and many more
Learn more about the many benefits of HBOT and how it works.
Supporting Research
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is associated with improved cerebral oxygenation, reduced blood-brain barrier breakdown, decreased inflammation, reduced cerebral edema, decreased intracranial pressure, reduced oxidative burden, reduced metabolic derangement, decreased apoptotic cell death and increased neural regeneration. (Matchett et al.)
- The results indicate that HBOT can lead to significant neurological improvements in post stroke patients even at chronic late stages (Efrati et al.)
- The observed clinical improvements imply that neuroplasticity can still be activated long after damage onset in regions where there is a brain SPECT/CT (anatomy/physiology) mismatch (Efrati et al.)
- Mobilization of BMSCs to an ischemic area was more improved in long course HBOT treatments, suggesting the duration of therapy is crucial for promoting the homing of BMSCs (bone marrow stem cells) to ischemic brain by HBOT therapies (Lee et al.).
- HBOT also can stimulate expression of trophic factors and improve neurogenesis and gliosis. These effects may help in neuronal repair after ischemic stroke, and increasing the course of HBOT therapy might enhance therapeutic effects on ischemic stroke (Lee et al.).
- Several studies have provided evidence with regard to the neuroprotection benefits of hyperbaric oxygen (HBOT) therapy in cases of stroke, and HBO also promotes bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) proliferation and mobilization (Lee et al.).
- HBOT appears to be a potent method of oxygen delivery.. It increases the oxygen partial pressure within the blood and enhances restoration of oxygen supply after ischemic stroke.. Previous studies provide evidence that HBOT promotes neurogenesis., reduces infarct size as well as hemorrhagic transformation and improves neurological function, in animal models of ischemic stroke (Mu et al.)
Sources
- Lee YS, Chio CC, Chang CP, Wang LC, Chiang PM, Niu KC, Tsai KJ. Long course hyperbaric oxygen stimulates neurogenesis and attenuates inflammation after ischemic stroke. Mediators Inflamm. 2013;2013:512978. doi: 10.1155/2013/512978. Epub 2013 Feb 21. PMID: 23533308; PMCID: PMC3595722.
- Matchett GA, Martin RD, Zhang JH. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy and cerebral ischemia: neuroprotective mechanisms. Neurol Res. 2009;31(2):114–21. doi: 10.1179/174313209X389857.
- Wang XL. et al. Proliferation of neural stem cells correlates with Wnt-3 protein in hypoxic-ischemic neonate rats after hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Neuroreport. 2007;18(16):1753–6. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0b013e3282f0ec09.
- Wang XL. et al. [Hyperbaric oxygen promotes the migration and differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells in neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage] Zhongguo Dang Dai Er Ke Za Zhi. 2009;11(9):749–52.
- Mu J, Krafft PR, Zhang JH. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes neurogenesis: where do we stand? Med Gas Res. 2011 Jun 27;1(1):14. doi: 10.1186/2045-9912-1-14. PMID: 22146131; PMCID: PMC3231808.
- Godman CA. et al. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment induces antioxidant gene expression. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010;1197:178–83. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05393.x
- Gunther A. et al. Reduced infarct volume and differential effects on glial cell activation after hyperbaric oxygen treatment in rat permanent focal cerebral ischaemia. Eur J Neurosci. 2005;21(11):3189–94. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.04151.x.
- Lanfranconi S, Growth factors in ischemic stroke. J Cell Mol Med. 2009. in press.
- Duan S, Shao G, Yu L, Ren C. Angiogenesis contributes to the neuroprotection induced by hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning against focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Int J Neurosci. 2015;125(8):625-34. doi: 10.3109/00207454.2014.956101. Epub 2014 Sep 17. PMID: 25171223.
- Chen LF, Tian YF, Lin CH, Huang LY, Niu KC, Lin MT. Repetitive hyperbaric oxygen therapy provides better effects on brain inflammation and oxidative damage in rats with focal cerebral ischemia. J Formos Med Assoc. 2014 Sep;113(9):620-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2014.03.012. Epub 2014 Apr 29. PMID: 24787662.
- Duan S, Shao G, Yu L, Ren C. Angiogenesis contributes to the neuroprotection induced by hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning against focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Int J Neurosci. 2015;125(8):625-34. doi: 10.3109/00207454.2014.956101. Epub 2014 Sep 17. PMID: 25171223.
- Efrati S, Fishlev G, Bechor Y, Volkov O, Bergan J, Kliakhandler K, et al. Hyperbaric oxygen induces late neu- roplasticity in post stroke patients–randomized, prospective trial. PLoS One. 2013; 8(1): e53716.
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