[Medical Q&A] Can hyperbaric oxygen be used to treat the sequelae of brain trauma?

Planner: Chinese Medical Association

Reviewer: Yu Qiuhong, Chief Physician, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy plays a positive auxiliary role in the acute phase and late rehabilitation of brain trauma. The damage caused by craniocerebral trauma is primary and secondary, and in the end it is nothing more than causing cell necrosis, apoptosis, inflammatory response and regeneration. Another important point is that the occurrence and development of cerebral edema leads to increased intracranial pressure, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy has an effect on each pathological and physiological change: reducing inflammatory response, inhibiting apoptosis, promoting nerve and blood vessel regeneration, and reducing intracranial pressure.

After an acute brain injury, the blood supply and oxygen supply to the brain are often affected, leading to brain cell hypoxia and dysfunction, cerebral edema, aggravated cerebral hypoxia, and a vicious cycle of cerebral edema-hypoxia-aggravated edema. Hyperbaric oxygen helps restore oxygen supply to damaged areas, reduce cerebral edema, lower intracranial pressure, and alleviate damage caused by hypoxia by increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the blood, promoting capillary regeneration, and accelerating the formation of collateral circulation.

In addition, hyperbaric oxygen can stimulate the repair and regeneration of nerve cells, activate neural stem cells, promote the growth of new nerve cells, help restore nerve function, and improve neurological dysfunction such as decreased cognitive and motor abilities caused by trauma.

Brain trauma is often accompanied by severe inflammatory reactions, which not only aggravates the injury but may also cause further brain tissue damage. Hyperbaric oxygen helps to reduce inflammatory reactions, thereby reducing secondary damage. Hyperbaric oxygen also increases the ability of phagocytes to digest necrotic cells and tissues, accelerates lesion clearance, promotes glial cell differentiation and proliferation, and accelerates tissue repair. It stimulates the brain's neural plasticity and promotes the reconstruction of neural circuits, playing a positive role in restoring cognitive functions such as memory and attention.