Hyperbaric O2: Good for some things, but not others

Most of the stuff you hear about hyperbaric oxygen being used to treat is total nonsense. It isn't effective at treating autism or cerebral palsy.

But an article in the Times makes the point that it is effective for treating some things:

The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, the professional organization in this field, recognizes 13 conditions for which it is legitimate to place patients in high-pressure chambers that force pure oxygen into their blood and tissues. Eleven of those conditions have been approved by Medicare for reimbursement, indicating that solid evidence supports these uses of hyperbaric oxygen.

The list includes decompression sickness ("the bends"), necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease), carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene, the bone infection osteomyelitis, nonhealing wounds and delayed radiation injury to bone and soft tissue.

But nowhere in the list are cerebral palsy, autism, 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.

"Credibility is a huge problem," said Richard E. Clarke, director of the Baromedical Research Foundation, which sponsors scientifically sound research. "We are all tarred by the same brush."

"Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been suggested as beneficial in several other conditions, unfortunately, clinically valid evidence is virtually nonexistent," he said. "This is relatively expensive and time-consuming therapy, and it makes sense to ask whether it is cost-effective and whether the benefits are long-lasting."

Read the whole thing. In many cases, the reason that we want to use hyperbaric oxygen is to fight off an infection from an anaerobic bacteria that has taken up shop in your body. The oxygen limits the growth of the bacteria and helps your immune system get rid of it.

The problem is that many crank doctors have diverted this very valid medical technique under some circumstances for the treatment of diseases for which it has no proven effectiveness. Cerebral palsy is caused by part of your brain dying. No amount of oxygen forced into the tissues is going to cause a recovery from that.