TBI: Pentagon Study To Commence 2011

A clinical trial to include 300 soldiers at 5 sites over 18 months, all coordinated by the Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health & Brain Injury, is more good news for military veterans suffering traumatic brain injury (TBI) and another shot in the arm for evidence-based hyperbaric medicine. Read more about the study at Army Times.

P.S. Please accept this short PSA as our apology for neglecting to celebrate Brain Injury Awareness month in March.

U-2 Spy Plane Keeps 'Em Flying Under Pressure

Unmanned drones don't worry about decompression sickness (DCS), but high-flying spies do. A short feature article and slide show in today's New York Times considers the U-2 spy plane's Cold War history and newfound value in the skies over Afghanistan.

Most of us associate DCS, or the bends, with ascending too rapidly from undersea depths. Rapid decompression from a pressurized fuselage at high altitude is every bit as dangerous. U-2 pilots "wear spacesuits because their blood would literally boil if they had to eject unprotected at such a high altitude," the article reports, and

...in 2006, a U-2 pilot almost crashed after drifting in and out of consciousness during a flight over Afghanistan. The pilot, Kevin Henry, now a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said in an interview that he felt as if he were drunk, and he suffered some brain damage. At one point, he said, he came within five feet of smashing into the ground before miraculously finding a runway.

Civilian aviators, and certainly commercial airline passengers, very rarely encounter such circumstances. But the risk of the bends is always on the mind of alert military air crews who depend on pressure suits or pressure-demand oxygen systems to breathe. The conditions are just short of spaceflight. At maximum cruise altitude, around 70,000 feet (plenty high enough to see the curvature of the Earth), the U-2's cabin is only pressurized to about 30,000 feet. In commercial airliners, operating at typical cruise altitudes of 30,000–40,000 feet, the cabin is pressurized to 6,000–8,000 feet.

Such high-pressure risks give us yet one more reason to admire our men and women in uniform—or spacesuits, as the case may be—and keep those hyperbaric oxygen chambers at the ready. Fly right!

(NYTimes photo: U-2 pilot USAF Maj Eric Schontz stretching and breathing pure oxygen one hour preflight.)

TBI: Harch IHMA Study Expands

Here we go, against our better judgment, getting swooped up by another Harch media blitz—and bully for him for drumming up support and playing hardball in public relations and healthcare politics. Funded by the nonprofit foundation of the International Hyperbaric Medical Association, the trial will now include 1,000 volunteers, from the military and the general population, treated by 20 investigating physicians for mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Read the full coverage at Digital Journal. We were especially moved by the story of retired brigadier general Patterson Mamey, pictured right, click here for video.

We're on record in favor of Medicare reimbursement for traumatic brain injury now. All our best to the investigators and patients in their pursuit of better healing and more meaningful, replicable study findings. Now let's all be quiet and do the science.

The Hurt Locker: Post-Oscar Stress Syndrome

Last night's top honors for The Hurt Locker, a film that successfully embeds the audience with an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit in Iraq, can only help build awareness and support for the real people who have suffered the physical and mental traumas of war. There has been some flak about the movie's authenticity. (See our favorite piece and amazing video explosions here.) But there's no questioning the larger role hyperbaric oxygen therapy might play in soldiers' recovery. In the past couple months we've been following progress in new clinical studies of HBOT for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and new funding for veterans experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We will continue our coverage of this vital topic, with a new condition page for PTSD and the occasional push for a TBI indication.

Insurgent Urgency: TBI On Track For 14th Indication

Now the hyperbaric pressure is on. Before we set aside this critically important topic for a very short while, check out more major coverage in today's New York Times on the increasing proliferation and sophistication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by Afghan insurgents. Congressman Pete Sessions (TX) reiterates the aim of his legislation here.

Why Congressional Action Is So Timely

The Atlantic today reminds us that soldiers in Afghanistan face a mounting risk of injury from improvised explosive devices. Indeed there'll be no end to IEDs anytime soon. All the more reason for swift action on Pete Sessions's VA initiative. Have another look at that Brain Storm film, while you're at it, and some choice Congressional testimony on this vital matter.

HBOT Gets The Full Indy Documentary Treatment

Apparently this revolution will be televised. The student film Brain Storm: Oxygen Under Pressure has won the May film competition sponsored by Reelshow International. Director and military veteran John Salcedo tackles the ongoing fight to provide HBOT for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He based his work on The Oxygen Revolution by Paul G. Harch, MD, and he does a pretty good job channeling Harch's vision and contagious passion for hyperbarics. Maybe the Michael Moore sensationalism and Sicko soundtrack will stimulate discussion and drum up support. Full 42-minute film here. Or check your volume then check out the trailer: