Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): General information and discussion of Home Units

[Tomek]

Sorry to interrupt, but it sounds like you are all looking for 1.5ATA devices. Is 1.5ATA the minimum pressure to get therapeutic benefits? I ask because there is an "oxygen therapy center" not too far from my home that offers HBOT sessions (60 or 90 minutes) at 1.3ATA. Since I don't have enough room at home to buy and install my own chamber, I'm considering going to this center. It is a bit expensive (2280€ for 60 * 60 minutes sessions, 2760€ for 60 * 90 minutes sessions). I'm not even sure if I need 60 sessions, I don't have any particular health problem, except that I had a bone surgery last week and I'm still recovering.

 

[Gabriela]

Hi guys! I've done only one session a friday, at 2.4 ATA for an hour in total, after a coupe of days I did not feel anything change, but by tuesday the following week I had flu symptoms, mild fever and brain fog, and I was really tired mentally and physically that I cancelled the appointement for another session that I had, I don't know if it was the chamber or I got the flu. I would like to know if someone else had the same? or it was just a virus. I am ok now, and I'm having the next session on Saturday morning. (last session was friday 15th)

 

[Pecha]

Sorry to interrupt, but it sounds like you are all looking for 1.5ATA devices. Is 1.5ATA the minimum pressure to get therapeutic benefits? I ask because there is an "oxygen therapy center" not too far from my home that offers HBOT sessions (60 or 90 minutes) at 1.3ATA. Since I don't have enough room at home to buy and install my own chamber, I'm considering going to this center. It is a bit expensive (2280€ for 60 * 60 minutes sessions, 2760€ for 60 * 90 minutes sessions). I'm not even sure if I need 60 sessions, I don't have any particular health problem, except that I had a bone surgery last week and I'm still recovering.

There is some research that states that at pressures greater than (and at?) 1.5 ATA, oxygen is bacteriostatic, as in it inhibits bacterial growth. This website refers to some research done that suggest this.

This journal article also suggests it, but it is locked by a paywall. You can't get to the part where it mentions 1.5 ATA, but I was able to get it to show in the Google results:

 

[Pierre]

Is 1.5ATA the minimum pressure to get therapeutic benefits?

In general no, it just takes longer according the paper below. For certain specific conditions 1.5 or higher is recommended but I don't remember the source.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at 1.3 atm at room temperature is just as effective as 100% oxygen at 2.4 Atm as evidenced by research​

May 18, 2020​

Breathing regular air under hyperbaric oxygen conditions of 1.3 Atm leads to more than 50% elevation in tissue oxygenation. There are many case reports illustrating significant effects due to small increases in air pressure, including effects on the brain (2,3,4,5). Moreover, even a slight increase in partial pressure, such as to 1.05 Atm at altitude 402 m below sea level (the Dead Sea) can lead to noticeable physiological effects (6-10). Since 50% elevation in tissue oxygen can have significant physiological effects, treatment with room air at 1.3Atm is not an "ineffectual treatment"..(1)


A recent randomized, controlled trial on mTBI patients by Wolf et al (11), used room air at 1.3 Atm as sham control for treatment with 100% oxygen at 2.4 Atm. Both groups revealed significant improvements in cognitive symptoms and in the measure of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). WE find these results very important: they actually demonstrate that the significantly less expensive and logistically simpler treatment of mTBI patients with mild HBNO2 (mild hyperbaric pressure of 1.3Atm and regular air) can lead to meaningful improvements. Interpretation is based on previous studies demonstrating that mild HBNO2 conditons can be effectual treatments (1).


For the first time, convincing results based on a crossover study, demonstrating that HBOT can induce neuroplasticity and significant brain function improvements in mild TBI patients with prolonged Post-Concussion-Syndrome at late chronic stage, years after injury. HBOT can be effective in treating other brain impairments, like easing PTSD symptoms or reparing radiation damage. It is also reasonable to expect that HBOT can help slow down or even reverse metabolic disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases (1).


Breathing 100% oxygen at 2.4 ATA generate very high oxygen levels in tissues, which can cause an inhibitory effect or even focal toxicity, it is conceivable that HBOT using 2.4 ATA can be less effective than 1.3 ATA or other lower levels of pressure (5).





(1) Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Can Improve Post Concussion Syndrome Years after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury - Randomized Prospective Trial. Rahav Boussi-Gross. November 2013, Volume 9, Issue 11


(2) James PB (2001) Hyperbaric oxygenation for cerebral palsy. Lancet 357: 2052–2053. [PubMed][Google Scholar]


(3) Golding FC, Griffiths P, Hempleman HV, Paton WD, Walder DN (1960) Decompression sickness during construction of the Dartford Tunnel. British journal of industrial medicine 17: 167–180. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]


(4) Austin D (1998) Gammow bag for acute mountain sickness. Lancet 351: 1815. [PubMed][Google Scholar]


(5) Mychaskiw G, 2nd, Stephens PL (2013) Hyperbaric Oxygen, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Study Design: An Elusive Target. Journal of neurotrauma. [PubMed]


(6) Goldbart AD, Cohen AD, Weitzman D, Tal A (2007) Effects of rehabilitation winter camps at the Dead Sea on European cystic fibrosis patients. The Israel Medical Association journal: IMAJ 9: 806– 809. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]


(7) Kramer MR, Springer C, Berkman N, Glazer M, Bublil M, et al. (1998) Rehabilitation of hypoxemic patients with COPD at low altitude at the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. Chest 113: 571–575. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]


(8) Falk B, Nini A, Zigel L, Yahav Y, Aviram M, et al. (2006) Effect of low altitude at the Dead Sea on exercise capacity and cardiopulmonary response to exercise in cystic fibrosis patients with moderate to severe lung disease. Pediatric pulmonology 41: 234–241. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]


(9) Abinader EG, Sharif D, Rauchfleich S, Pinzur S, Tanchilevitz A (1999) Effect of low altitude (Dead Sea location) on exercise performance and wall motion in patients with coronary artery disease. The American journal of cardiology 83: : 250–251, A255. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]


(10) Gabizon I, Shiyovich A, Novack V, Khalameizer V, Yosefy C, et al. (2011) Impact of descent and stay at a Dead Sea resort (low altitude) on patients with systolic congestive heart failure and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. The Israel Medical Association journal: IMAJ 13: 402–407.[PubMed] [Google Scholar]


(11) Wolf G, Cifu D, Baugh L, Carne W, Profenna L (2012) The effect of hyperbaric oxygen on symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury. Journal of neurotrauma 29: 2606–2612. [PubMed][Google Scholar]

 

[LQB]

The Apex 32 is a completely new product - I may have received the first one.

I forgot to mention that Apex 32 also has a variable internal relief valve that allows the user to select between 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 ATA pressure. This may be important to those that require a controlled or slow step up in pressure from inside the chamber.

 

[sid]

Hi guys! I've done only one session a friday, at 2.4 ATA for an hour in total, after a coupe of days I did not feel anything change, but by tuesday the following week I had flu symptoms, mild fever and brain fog, and I was really tired mentally and physically that I cancelled the appointement for another session that I had, I don't know if it was the chamber or I got the flu. I would like to know if someone else had the same? or it was just a virus. I am ok now, and I'm having the next session on Saturday morning. (last session was friday 15th)

Are you in a cold climate atm? I had the same too ie severe fever, recovered for 2 weeks and then hit by covid. All happened after I started doing the chamber. It might be coincidence too ie I would have had the fevers anyways and the HBOT has helped in recovering faster. Or, the fevers are another method being used by the body to change the DNA. I can’t really tell. But, I have faith in the process so, will just continue and see what comes off it.

 

[stellar]

If you decide to go for the Zoy-Tech chamber, it comes with only one pressure gauge. You can ask them to make sure that there's a pressure gauge both internally and externally and also ask them to supply an oxygen mask as well. They did that for me at no additional cost.

Thanks, Thor. Great idea. I thought that the internal pressure gauge would be logically standard but best not to assume. I've just emailed them the request before I decide on ordering.

 

[Gabriela]

Are you in a cold climate atm? I had the same too ie severe fever, recovered for 2 weeks and then hit by covid. All happened after I started doing the chamber. It might be coincidence too ie I would have had the fevers anyways and the HBOT has helped in recovering faster. Or, the fevers are another method being used by the body to change the DNA. I can’t really tell. But, I have faith in the process so, will just continue and see what comes off it.

Hi @sid! Thanks for your feedback! Yes, I'm in a cold weather (winter) and it was pretty cold that weekend after the chamber so maybe it was that, I catched a cold/flu...very strange symptoms tough because it was a bit of runny nose a bit of cough and a bit of fever (37 degrees), all was like in tiny amounts, then tiredness and brain fog was in huge amounts (not tired anymore but still have brain fog). I wonder if DNA changes start to happen after only one session? If would be interesting to know also if fever is also a sign of DNA change

 

[dredger]

Found 2 good/great links, specialized search engines, thanks to Telegram where they were posted, kind of links to bookmark if you are used to search for studies/books/references on medical topics.

1. Base Search (BASE = Bielefeld Academy Search Engine)

BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine): Basic Search

More than 340 mio. scientific documents from more than 11.000 content providers. BASE is one of the world's most voluminous search engines for academic web resources.

www.base-search.net

Simple search on HBOT gives 1615 results (link to it)
On the right panel there are many option to refine the search, the "Access" option allows to see which articles/books are free and on the 1615 for HBOT there are 1085 with free access, 445 unknown and 85 in "non open access". Great research entry point (i suppose that any serious professionnal knows about such site).

2. Springer Link
Home page : https://link.springer.com/
Seach HBOT keyword : 765 results (link to it)
But here there are a great % of the articles/books which are just previews, the full document can be bought. When the 765 results are displayed, there's an option top-left you can uncheck, named "Include Preview-Only content ", if you uncheck it the number of results drop to 179 entries which are 100% free of access (just on HBOT so)

(note: I quickly t tried to search on "hyperbaric" keyword and the number of results is huge ... )

 

[Keyhole]

Here is one potential mechanism which would help to explain the magnitude of effect from HBOT: It increases structured water in the cell.

Effect of hyperbaric oxygen conditions on the ordering of interfacial water
Rolf E. Ypma, Gerald H. Pollack

[PDF] Effect of hyperbaric oxygen conditions on the ordering of interfacial water. | Semantic Scholar

Experimental results suggest the possibility of an ordered water-mediated mechanism of action for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, as seen at elevated air pressures and at high oxygen concentrations. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) conditions are applied clinically to treat diverse conditions. There is a...

www.semanticscholar.org

Abstract:
Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) conditions are applied clinically to treat diverse conditions. There is a lack of a unifying consensus as to how HBO2 acts effectively against a broad range of medical conditions, and numerous differing biological explanations have been offered. The possibility of a mechanism dependent on the extensive ordering of interfacial water has not yet been investigated. We examined the hypothesis that zones of ordered water, dubbed "exclusion zones" or "EZ," are expanded under hyperbaric oxygen conditions. Specifically, we tested whether there are significant quantitative differences in EZ size at steady state under high-pressure and/or high-oxygen conditions, compared to normal atmospheric conditions. Oxygen concentration and mechanical pressure were examined separately and in combination. Statistically significant increases in EZ size were seen at elevated air pressures and at high oxygen concentrations. These experimental results suggest the possibility of an ordered water-mediated mechanism of action for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Excerpts:


Many mechanisms remain in doubt – for example, as a review of HBO2 applications to traumatic brain injuries euphemistically observed: “the potential mechanism of action of HBOT in treating [brain injuries] has not been fully elucidated” [4]. While many of these theorized mechanisms may be valid, there appears to be no clear consensus regarding what makes HBO2 function. It is suspected that rather than relying on a large, disparate collection of phenomena, the action of HBO2 might be explained by a more fundamental systemic effect.

One candidate for this effect is the interfacial water surrounding proteins, membranes and many other biological surfaces. Interfacial water appears to be ordered, thereby excluding solutes; because of this excluding feature, the interfacial water zone has been dubbed the exclusion zone (EZ) [5].

Evidence suggests that water and other liquids form organized layers at interfaces [6]; water layering phenomena are observed in biological systems, and are significant factors affecting transport and other processes [7]. Recent work from this laboratory has characterized the prevalence, properties and behavior of these interfacial zones [5,8, 9,10]. Given that exclusion zones are ubiquitous features of biological systems, the question arose as to whether hyperbaric oxygen conditions might exert their influence by mediating changes in the EZ. The hypothesized molecular structure for exclusion zones requires the splitting off of protons from bulk water [10,11], yielding a proton-poor exclusion zone with a higher ratio of oxygen to hydrogen than the bulk. Exclusion-zone formation and destruction are thought to be ongoing physical processes in interfacial water systems, where the EZ structure is simultaneously grown through a continuous input of incident infrared energy and destroyed by the influx of protons concentrated in the adjacent bulk.

It was therefore hypothesized that hyperbaric oxygen conditions will increase the size of exclusion zones through two mechanisms: through increased pressure and through increased dissolved oxygen. A comprehensive review of exclusion-zone phenomena suggests that exclusion zones have a higher density than bulk water [5]. Therefore, increased pressure on the system should force the equilibrium more in favor of the exclusion zone by creating a drive to decrease volume, so the exclusion zone is expected to grow in size under highpressure conditions.







This result suggests that oxygen may be the primary factor in the observed EZ size increase seen with increased air pressure. Several potential explanations exist for this phenomenon. The hypothesized structure for the exclusion zone is thought to contain a higher ratio of oxygen to hydrogen than bulk water. It was thus hypothesized that the availability of extra soluble oxygen would promote EZ formation. While this explanation is plausible, an exact chemical mechanism for incorporating dissolved oxygen species into the EZ structure is not immediately apparent. Such a mechanism might entail hydrolysis of water and/or the splitting of O2, if O2 is indeed the relevant soluble form.

A significant motivation behind this study was the idea that exclusion zones might be an explanatory factor in clinical hyperbaric oxygen therapy which appears efficacious for a wide variety of indications despite a mechanism still shrouded in mystery. It is thought that, given the abundance of both water and interfacial surfaces in living organisms, exclusion zones may be a highly prevalent phenomenon in biological systems. Exclusion zones might play a role in determining solute transport rates, ion gradients, viscosity and many other parameters within the highly interfacial architectures of biology. If the exclusion zone phenomenon does indeed play a significant role in biology, and oxygen levels have a significant effect on exclusion zones, then the elevated oxygen of HBO2 might affect the body through an EZ mechanism.

 

[worldbridger]

Heard about structured water for some 30 years but never really tried it or did any further studies. Here is a link about it, don't know how scientific it is but some basics I guess. Note they sell products….

STRUCTURED WATER | HOW TO, BENEFITS & MORE (is this the right way to add links?)

Macy-Pan will hopefully send the HBOT tomorrow, so soon I will make my own structured water….

 

[zak]

Following Keyhole's link, I came across a bit of smoke, and that also in the hyperbaric chamber, there are differences between males and females.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26152107/

Effects of cigarette smoking on tissue gas exchange during hyperbaric exposures​

Conclusions: This study demonstrates: 1) Smokers release MM N2 more slowly than nonsmokers during hyperbaric oxygen exposures regardless of the treatment protocol used; 2) There were no significant differences in O2 loading of MM and SC tissues during HBO2 exposures between smokers and nonsmokers; 3) The CO2 levels in both protocols decrease with time when exposed to HBO2 while increasing with breathing air at 2 ATA; 4) The known vasoconstriction effect in subcutaneous tissue from nicotine lasts less than one hour with the topical adiabatic heating increasing the O2 loading specifically in the SC tissues of smokers; 5) Wounds heal more slowly due to the chronically injured endothelium from carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and other toxic products in smoke rather than from the transient elevations of nicotine

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20462139/

Gender differences in human skeletal muscle and subcutaneous tissue gases under ambient and hyperbaric oxygen conditions​

Conclusions: Three main gender differences are observed in tissue gas loading and unloading under hyperbaric oxygen exposures: Females release SC N2 more slowly and saturate MM O2 and SC O2 to greater extents. Finally, female MM and SC O2 rose to higher levels in the multiplace protocol than in the monoplace protocol, which was not observed in the male subjects. This information may help explain why males and females respond differently to diving decompression stresses and the clinical application of HBO2

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17672171/

 

[Thor]

In this interview (at around 29 minutes), Scott Scherr, MD, who is one of the leading HBOT researchers and practitioners in the US, talks about Shai Efrati's protocol in Israel. According to Dr. Scherr, the protocol involves 60 sessions of 2 ATA pressure, where they take off the mask after 20 minutes and leave it off for 5 minutes and repeat. Each session is 90 minutes at pressure, which corresponds to 90 "pressure minutes" per session. I define a "pressure minute" as one minute at 2 atmosphere's pressure, equivalent of being at 10 meters (33 ft.) depth in water. The entire protocol gives a user 90 "pressure hours"

For those who have a 1.5 ATA system, they get only 0.5 "pressure minutes" per minute in the pressurised chamber. If we do a session of 60 minutes at 1.5 ATA (plus 10-15 minutes to reach full pressurisation), the sessions gives us 0.5 "presssure hours". So in order to get the equivalent "presssure time" as Dr. Efrati's protocol, we need to do 180 sessions at 60 minutes of pressure. Alternatively, we can increase the duration of each session to do 90 sessions with 2 hours at pressure or 127 sessions of 1.5 hours at pressure.

As I understand it, it's not necessary to get the same pressure exposure as Dr. Efrati to get some the benefits from HBOT. Dr. Scherr says that the "minium viable product" approach of estimating the minimum number of treatments to get sustainable benefits is 30 sessions. However, that does depend on age, general health conditions, diet, etc. For most people looking to get reverse ageing benefits Dr. Scherr refers to a study that has found that maximum senescent cell downregulation and telomere length contribution takes place at 30 sessions. He doesn't specify at what pressure and duration but as I understand it, it is implied that it's a similar setup as Dr. Efrati from Israel.

If these benefits follow a normal distribution, then half of the total benefits take place before the peak value and the remaining half take place after. So if you stop at the number of sessions when you reach peak effect, it means that you're only getting half the potential benefit.

All in all, that's a pretty lengthy protocol...

 

[Laura]

In this interview (at around 29 minutes), Scott Scherr, MD, who is one of the leading HBOT researchers and practitioners in the US, talks about Shai Efrati's protocol in Israel. According to Dr. Scherr, the protocol involves 60 sessions of 2 ATA pressure, where they take off the mask after 20 minutes and leave it off for 5 minutes and repeat. Each session is 90 minutes at pressure, which corresponds to 90 "pressure minutes" per session. I define a "pressure minute" as one minute at 2 atmosphere's pressure, equivalent of being at 10 meters (33 ft.) depth in water. The entire protocol gives a user 90 "pressure hours"

For those who have a 1.5 ATA system, they get only 0.5 "pressure minutes" per minute in the pressurised chamber. If we do a session of 60 minutes at 1.5 ATA (plus 10-15 minutes to reach full pressurisation), the sessions gives us 0.5 "presssure hours". So in order to get the equivalent "presssure time" as Dr. Efrati's protocol, we need to do 180 sessions at 60 minutes of pressure. Alternatively, we can increase the duration of each session to do 90 sessions with 2 hours at pressure or 127 sessions of 1.5 hours at pressure.

As I understand it, it's not necessary to get the same pressure exposure as Dr. Efrati to get some the benefits from HBOT. Dr. Scherr says that the "minium viable product" approach of estimating the minimum number of treatments to get sustainable benefits is 30 sessions. However, that does depend on age, general health conditions, diet, etc. For most people looking to get reverse ageing benefits Dr. Scherr refers to a study that has found that maximum senescent cell downregulation and telomere length contribution takes place at 30 sessions. He doesn't specify at what pressure and duration but as I understand it, it is implied that it's a similar setup as Dr. Efrati from Israel.

If these benefits follow a normal distribution, then half of the total benefits take place before the peak value and the remaining half take place after. So if you stop at the number of sessions when you reach peak effect, it means that you're only getting half the potential benefit.

All in all, that's a pretty lengthy protocol...

Thanks very much for putting this together. That's close to what I had figured I needed to do.

Yes, it is lengthy, but it is certainly painless and you don't have to swallow a lot of pills and I don't know of anything else that does what this therapy does.

 

[worldbridger]

Considering my current situation and what might be coming, and if this chamber does what they claim, it will be a part of my life.