Cerebral Palsy: 4MyChild Finds HBOT Results "Promising"

Where others (like us) have found scant evidence to support HBOT for cerebral palsy, the patient advocacy group 4MyChild reports:

In studies, increased oxygen intake and tissue saturation has shown promising results for children with brain injuries:

• Improved breathing
• New blood vessel growth
• Decreased swelling and inflammation
• Deactivation of toxins
• Strengthened immune system

If brain damage caused your child's cerebral palsy, hyperbaric oxygen treatment is worth investigating.

We appreciate the enthusiasm and share the hope. But we urge O2.0 readers to weigh the current evidence, especially the fascinating Lancet study, where both HBOT and control groups enjoyed statistically significant benefits. Hmm. Obviously further investigation is warranted, and we found at least one new CP trial currently enrolling.

Autism Alert: Or Is HBOT Full Of Hot Air?

Of course the Rossignol study (see our March 13 post) will fuel, not end, the scientific debate surrounding HBOT for autism. So it behooves us to direct O2.0 readers to one stinging rebuttal at Left Brain/Right Brain. Guest (ghost?) blogger Prometheus lands a few good punches. Future investigators would do well to review his (her?) criticism of study methods and statistical analysis. But why begin by smearing healthcare providers located at strip malls? Thousands of indisputably reputable urgent care, dialysis, imaging, day surgery, rehabilitation, and other centers stand ready to refute that flimsy argument. We eschew this tone of discourse and, in this blog, will aspire to refine the rules of engagement. Along the way, let's do recognize the gap between such promising new data and the compelling Level 1 evidence that's sorely lacking.