Australian Chiropractor Reprimanded for "'Disgraceful and Dishonourable'' Off-label Treatment and Promotion

A chiropractor in Melbourne, Australia, has been reprimanded by a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for taking advantage of a cerebral palsy patient for his own financial gains and for making false representations about the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of cerebral palsy, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, infertility, and AIDS. Read "Chiropractor's oxygen treatment created false hope from hot air" on theage.com.au.

Cerebral Palsy: Evidence From Scant To Promising?

The 2001 Lancet paper by Collet, et al, continues to fascinate. (See our April 15 post.) Well, fellow hyperblogger Dr Glenn L. Goodhart has an interesting new take on the matter and shares a 2007 review article by Collet's co-author Dr Pierre Marois, who calls for further study and urges that

...in the meantime, given the very low risk of adverse effects and the promising results, children should be allowed access to HBOT.

We thank the good doctor Goodhart. But we can't agree it's time to approve HBOT for CP based on this evidence. And precisely how the supposedly evil threat of Canadian-style "socialized" medicine figures in this story we cannot possibly divine.

UHMS Las Vegas: Lively Session On "Off-Label" Indications

HyperbaricLink.com and O2.0 congratulate the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society for holding its first plenary session dedicated to "Off-Label" Indications for HBO2 Treatment. The Society has shaped clinical practice and financial reimbursement for HBOT by keeping an iron grip on its 13 "approved" indications, adding just one to the list since 1976.

We were especially taken with Dr Dan Rossignol's autism presentation. Esteemed steward of the HBOT evidence Dr Michael Bennett agreed Rossignol's study was "terribly exciting and important" but needed replication. Bennett's quick take on other neurologic indications for HBOT ranged from "disproven" for multiple sclerosis to "unlikely" for cerebral palsy.

Proper blinding of hyperbaric clinical trials, as explained by Dick Clarke, proved a more difficult and subtle issue than we could have imagined. But it was Dr Jayesh Shah's provocative consideration of off-label ethics that really stirred things up and kept the Q&A going through lunchtime.

Perhaps minds are opening and times are changing. The UHMS moderator caught the true spirit of the session when he said, "If we don't provide leadership, who will?"

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.

Jane Brody Prescribes A Healthy Dose Of HBOT Skepticism

The ever trustworthy Jane Brody (we're big fans) strikes the usual fine balance in her Personal Health column on hyperbaric oxygen therapy. She wisely calls on UHMS and the BRF for expert guidance. She also references an article we'd really like to get our hands on, from the November 2008 issue of Emergency Medicine, in which authors Maples and Mendelson "explain the various uses of a 300-year-old treatment that is only now reaching its full potential." Brody cites the proper evidence and acknowledges the approved indications. Then she slams HBOT as one of many "unproven remedies" for cerebral palsy, autism, and more:

...multiple sclerosis, stroke, macular degeneration, spinal cord injury, sports injuries, heart attack, postpolio syndrome, Lyme disease, migraine, cirrhosis, myasthenia gravis, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome—among the dozens of conditions that independent clinics claim to treat with hyperbaric oxygen. Not to mention the claims of celebrities like Michael Jackson, who used it in the hope that it will keep him alive to 150, and Keanu Reeves, who used it for insomnia.

Phew.