HBOT for TBI: The Loma Linda Review

A new literature review of the experimental (animal) and clinical (human) evidence on hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for traumatic brain injury (TBI) was published yesterday in Medical Gas Research [2011, 1:21]. The authors find that, combined with other therapies, HBOT may serve as a promising neuroprotective strategy and improve long-term outcomes for people with TBI. They conclude:

Translational research of HBOT in a variety of TBI models has shown neuroprotective effects in the absence of increased oxygen toxicity when administered at pressures less than 3 ATA. Due to the heterogeneity of human TBI, the efficacy of clinical HBOT and an optimal regimen for HBOT remains elusive. However, all human studies have involved severe TBI patients and it is likely that there may be increased efficacy in mild or moderate TBI patients. Recent clinical trials favor HBOT as promising safe therapeutic strategy for severe TBI patients.

Download the provisional abstract and full-text PDF directly from this open-access, peer-reviewed online journal.