FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Parents reported a nearly 50% overall improvement in their children with severe cerebral palsy following hyperbaric oxygen therapy, according to a study reported at a symposium on hyperbaric therapy.
To assess parental perception of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), researchers at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., surveyed parents or caregivers of 73 children with cerebral palsy (CP). They rated levels of improvements for cognitive, motor, sensory, and overall function on a 0–10 scale via telephone. The ages of children ranged from 1 year to 26 years, and 51% were male.
“Preliminary analysis of the data thus far suggests hyperbaric oxygen can be an effective treatment for CP,” Brandon Korman said at the symposium, sponsored by the Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Center in Fort Lauderdale.
“Parents reported quite a bit of improvement,” said Mr. Korman, a graduate student at Nova Southeastern University. Parents found a 49.6% overall improvement in their children's conditions after HBOT.
Of the three domains on the survey, parents reported the greatest improvements in cognitive vs. motor or sensory areas. “This was a particularly interesting finding because mainstream medicine does not offer much for cognitive improvement in cerebral palsy,” Mr. Korman said.
He conducted the telephone survey with graduate student Maritza Figueroa.
“When interpreting these data, keep in mind this is based on parent perception rather than a control group,” Mr. Korman said. “There is no control group to rule out spontaneous improvement. Children at the program also received other therapies concurrently.”
There was no indication of an age-related recovery effect. “This was somewhat surprising,” Mr. Korman said.
“It could be that HBOT is increasing the period of plasticity that otherwise drops off after infancy.” Another finding that warrants further investigation, he said, was a lack of a significant dose-response relationship between the number of treatments and overall improvement.
A total of 73% of parents survey reported overall satisfaction with HBOT.