Veterans’ PTSD symptoms could improve with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, study shows

Fox News

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is the process of breathing in pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber to treat various physical health conditions.
Researchers in Israel have discovered it can also help treat mental health conditions, specifically combat-associated PTSD (CA-PTSD) in military veterans.
The group of veterans who went through HBOT showed a “significant decrease” in PTSD symptoms, with 68% of respondents reporting improvement.
The researchers concluded that “dedicated HBOT protocol can improve PTSD symptoms of veterans with CA-PTSD.”
“HBOT may target and recruit these malfunctioning brain regions, and thus address core symptoms of PTSD — such as nightmares and flashbacks — and improve brain function.”

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Clinical trials are showing promise for a novel treatment for PTSD.

The practice of breathing in pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber to treat a variety of physical health conditions is known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

Israeli researchers have found that it can also aid in the treatment of mental health issues, particularly combat-associated PTSD (CA-PTSD) in veterans of the armed forces.

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The study, which was published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, examined 63 veterans who received randomized treatment between 2020 and 2023.

68 percent of veterans who underwent HBOT reported improvement in their PTSD symptoms, indicating a “significant decrease” in these symptoms.

“Dedicated HBOT protocol can improve PTSD symptoms of veterans with CA-PTSD,” the researchers concluded. “..”.

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To discuss these findings, Dr. Marc Siegel, a senior medical analyst for Fox News, appeared on “Fox and Friends” on Monday.

The doctor pointed out that the brain exhibits symptoms of oxygen deprivation in PTSD patients, which implies that resupplying it with HBOT may be promising, despite the fact that some experts think it’s “still early” to rely on this treatment.

Siegel described PTSD as a “huge problem,” causing symptoms such as anxiety, poor sleep, flashbacks, and other disturbances.

He stated, “Nearly 20 percent of our veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns are exhibiting these symptoms.”. He pointed out that it may take some time for the symptoms to appear.

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According to Siegel, HBOT is “showing promise” as a potential universal treatment to complement treatments such as therapy and antidepressants.

He claimed, “Israel is exploiting this because they have even more PTSD.”. “The illness runs in the family. “,”.

Dr. PTSD is primarily treated as a “psychological condition requiring psychotherapy,” according to Keren Doenyas-Barak, head of the PTSD program at Israel’s Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, who made this point clear in a statement to Fox News Digital. “.

The study’s lead researcher wrote, “However, recent imaging techniques, such as fMRI and SPECT, reveal that PTSD is associated with long-term changes in both brain activity and structure.”.

“HBOT may target and recruit these dysfunctional brain regions, thereby improving brain function and addressing core PTSD symptoms like nightmares and flashbacks. “..”.

They showed a “significant therapeutic effect” in veterans who had “not responded to psychotherapy or medications,” according to Doenyas-Barak.

She told Fox News Digital, “Changes in brain network activity were accompanied by the clinical improvement.”.

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