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Hyperbaric Oxygen Study Shows Potential Benefit for Patients With Traumatic

Brain Injury

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A 5-year study of patients with

severe traumatic brain injury conducted at Hennepin County Medical Center in

Minneapolis shows significant benefit of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to improve

brain metabolism and its ability to recover from injury. The results were

recently published in the Journal of Neurosurgery.

Every year, more than 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury

(TBI) - the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults.

Those who survive often face months or even years of therapy, and sometimes the

damage to the brain is irreversible. Decreased utilization of oxygenated blood

to brain tissue immediately after the injury is often to blame.

Cells need oxygen to fuel metabolism for cellular growth and repair. Healthy

brains produce their own energy to maintain brain tissue and keep the rest of

the body doing what it's supposed to do. That includes automatic processes like

breathing and circulation, as well as voluntary actions like walking and

talking. After a traumatic brain injury, the brain itself needs care. Barriers

to blood flow can be compromised from the impact of the injury itself, and then

when the brain swells inside the skull, a secondary injury can occur that causes

even more brain damage.

" There's a direct correlation between clinical outcome and the degree to which

the brain's metabolism is restored, " explains one of the study's authors,

neurosurgeon Gaylan Rockswold, MD. " In previous research we learned that the

brain's energy production is improved and maintained with hyperbaric oxygen

treatment, but this study confirms that hyperbaric oxygen treatment has a major

impact in terms of increased energy production. "

Within 24 hours after injury, eligible patients for the study were randomized

into three groups: One group received " normobaric " treatment: oxygen delivered

at the patient's bedside; another group received hyperbaric treatment in

Hennepin County Medical Center's hyperbaric oxygen chamber; and a third

(control) group did not receive additional oxygen therapy. All groups received

the intensive standard of care for brain injury consistent with good clinical

practice. The patients who received higher levels of oxygen (hyperoxia) via the

hyperbaric oxygen chamber were found to have a marked increase in positive brain

metabolism when compared to the normobaric and control group.

" Our goal was to evaluate the brain's metabolism and intracranial pressure, and

whether or not too much oxygen posed a concern with hyperbaric oxygen treatment

in these patients, " said Dr. Rockswold. " The results indicate that hyperbaric

oxygen treatment was found to significantly enhance the brain's energy

production and reduce intracranial pressure without any toxic effects on the

brain or lungs from too much oxygen. "

This research provides important preliminary data for a National Institutes of

Health (NIH) supported multicenter trial. NIH trials directly assess the ability

to improve clinical outcomes, which is the final step needed to change standard

clinical processes. Currently standard clinical practice does not include

hyperbaric oxygen for traumatic brain injury.

" TBI is not only devastating for the patient, it's also heart wrenching for his

or her family. We couldn't be more pleased about the impact this study will have

for patients with traumatic brain injury. "

The Traumatic Brain Injury Center at Hennepin County Medical Center offers

comprehensive, multidisciplinary patient care education and research to serve

people who have sustained a traumatic brain injury. Providing a full range of

state-of-the-art medical and rehabilitative services, HCMC's expertise spans the

entire continuum of care for adult and pediatric TBI patients, from prevention

to emergency care, neurosurgery, critical care, rehabilitation and the Mild to

Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic.

About Traumatic Brain Injuries

Each year, more than 1.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury

(TBI). In Minnesota, nearly 100,000 brain injuries occur annually. A large

percentage of those injuries are mild to moderate cases and often go untreated.

As a Level 1 Trauma Center, Hennepin County Medical Center admits and treats the

most traumatic brain injuries in the state. More information about HCMC's

Traumatic Brain Injury Center can be found at www.savethisbrain.org.

The state's only permanent, fully accredited hyperbaric chamber is located at

Hennepin County Medical Center. HCMC's Hyperbaric Medicine program is one of

only 60 programs in the country to achieve accreditation by the Undersea and

Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS).

The multi-chambered unit is fully staffed year round and is used for a variety

of critical and chronic medical conditions, including treatment for carbon

monoxide poisoning. Hennepin County Medical Center is a Level 1 Trauma Center

and public teaching hospital repeatedly recognized as one of America's best

hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.

SOURCE Hennepin County Medical Center