Attention:

I am thrilled to announce we have received a very generous donation for our patients! Both children and adults patients will be able to apply to receive Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. This donation is enough to reduce the fees of 40 treatments by over 50% each!

All patients will also be supplied with a full months supply of “Speak Vitamins”

We also have full furnished apartments for our clients with children through a non profit organization,  www.Stevenshope.org . These apartments are two bedrooms, full kitchen, cable, computer. etc. for a very reasonable cost to our clients with children. (these fill quickly)

If you are interested in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for your loved one. Please contact our office 909-889-7626 www.hbot4u.com . This donation will be able to help several families.

• All clients will receive a full months supply of “ Speak” Omega fatty acids and no cost. These vitamins have proven to be out standing with all of our patients: CP, Autism, PDD, Traumatic brain injury, stroke and hypoxic brain injury as seen in near drown victims and hypoxic birth.

Sincerely

Susan, Patrick, and Dr Underwood

Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics

909-889-7626

www.hbot4u.com

Attention:

I am thrilled to announce we have received a very generous donation for our patients! Both children and adults patients will be able to apply to receive Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. This donation is enough to reduce the fees of 40 treatments by over 50% each!

We also have full furnished apartments for our clients with children through a non profit organization,  www.Stevenshope.org . These apartments are two bedrooms, full kitchen, cable, computer. etc. for a very reasonable cost to our clients with children. ( these fill quickly)

If you are interested in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for your loved one. Please contact our office 909-889-7626 www.hbot4u.com . This donation will be able to help several families.

Sincerely

Susan, Patrick, and Dr Underwood

Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics

909-889-7626

www.hbot4u.com

Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2009 Apr;151(4):415-8. Epub 2009 Mar 11.

Related Articles, Links

Hyperbaric oxygen in neurosurgery.

Fischer BR, Speckmann EJ, Greiner C, Gorji A, Wölfer J, Wassmann H.

Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Münster (UKM), Albert-Schweitzer-Strasse 33, 48129, Münster, Germany.

BACKGROUND: The therapeutic use of pure oxygen, even under hyperbaric conditions, has been well established for about 50 years, whereas the discovery of oxygen occurred 250 years earlier. Many neurosurgical patients suffer from brain tissue damage, due to reduced blood flow, obstructive vessel disease, or as a result of traumatic brain injury. METHODS AND RESULTS: The application of pure oxygen in these patients is the only method of increasing the O(2) concentration in tissue with impaired blood supply and can minimize secondary impairment of brain tissue. DISCUSSION: In this brief historical overview we focus on the development and evidence of hyperbaric oxygenation in this specific field of insufficient oxygen supply to the central neural tissue. CONCLUSION: With the use of modern biological methods and new study designs, HBO has a place in evidence-based treatment of patients with neural tissue damage.

Publication Types:

·         Historical Article

PMID: 19277461 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Stem Cells and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics

www.hbot4u.com

909-889-7626

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Penn study finds hyperbaric oxygen treatments mobilize stem cells

Recovery of injured and diseased tissue the ultimate goal

According to a study to be published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulation Physiology, a typical course of hyperbaric oxygen treatments increases by eight-fold the number of stem cells circulating in a patient's body. Stem cells, also called progenitor cells are crucial to injury repair. The study currently appears on-line and is scheduled for publication in the April 2006 edition of the American Journal.

Stem cells exist in the bone marrow of human beings and animals and are capable of changing their nature to become part of many different organs and tissues. In response to injury, these cells move from the bone marrow to the injured sites, where they differentiate into cells that assist in the healing process. The movement, or mobilization, of stem cells can be triggered by a variety of stimuli – including pharmaceutical agents and hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Where as drugs are associated with a host of side effects, hyperbaric oxygen treatments carry a significantly lower risk of such effects.

"This is the safest way clinically to increase stem cell circulation, far safer than any of the pharmaceutical options," said Stephen Thom, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "This study provides information on the fundamental mechanisms for hyperbaric oxygen and offers a new theoretical therapeutic option for mobilizing stem cells."

"We reproduced the observations from humans in animals in order to identify the mechanism for the hyperbaric oxygen effect," added Thom. "We found that hyperbaric oxygen mobilizes stem/progenitor cells because it increases synthesis of a molecule called nitric oxide in the bone marrow. This synthesis is thought to trigger enzymes that mediate stem/progenitor cell release."

Hopefully, future study of hyperbaric oxygen's role in mobilizing stem cells will provide a wide array of treatments for combating injury and disease.

Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics

www.hbot4u.com

909-889-7626

From Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics

www.hbot4u.com

1: J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2009 Apr 17. [Epub ahead of print] Links

Hyperbaric oxygenation enhances transplanted cell graft and functional recovery in the infarct heart.

Khan M, Meduru S, Mohan IK, Kuppusamy ML, Wisel S, Kulkarni A, Rivera BK, Hamlin RL, Kuppusamy P.

Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

A major limitation to the application of stem-cell therapy to repair ischemic heart damage is the low survival of transplanted cells in the heart, possibly due to poor oxygenation. We hypothesized that hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) can be used as an adjuvant treatment to augment stem-cell therapy. Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of HBO on the engraftment of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplanted in infarct rat hearts. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced in Fisher-344 rats by permanently ligating the left-anterior-descending coronary artery. MSCs, labeled with fluorescent superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) particles, were transplanted in the infarct and peri-infarct regions of the MI hearts. HBO (100% oxygen at 2 ATA for 90 min) was administered daily for 2 weeks. Four MI groups were used: untreated (MI); HBO; MSC; MSC+HBO. Echocardiography, electro-vectorcardiography, and magnetic resonance imaging were used for functional evaluations. The engraftment of transplanted MSCs in the heart was confirmed by SPIO fluorescence and Prussian-blue staining. Immunohistochemical staining was used to identify key cellular and molecular markers including CD29, troponin-T, connexin-43, VEGF, alpha-smooth-muscle actin, and von Willebrand factor in the tissue. Compared to MI and MSC groups, the MSC+HBO group showed a significantly increased recovery of cardiac function including left-ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, fraction shortening, LV wall thickness, and QRS vector. Further, HBO treatment significantly increased the engraftment of CD29-positive cells, expression of connexin-43, troponin-T and VEGF, and angiogenesis in the infarct tissue. Thus, HBO appears to be a potential and clinically-viable adjuvant treatment for myocardial stem-cell therapy.

PMID: 19376124 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related articles

·         Myocardial oxygenation and functional recovery in infarct rat hearts transplanted with mesenchymal stem cells.

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2009 May; 296(5):H1263-73. Epub 2009 Mar 13.

[Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2009]

·         Mesenchymal stem cells participate in angiogenesis and improve heart function in rat model of myocardial ischemia with reperfusion.

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2006 Aug; 30(2):353-61. Epub 2006 Jul 10.

[Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2006]

·         Effects of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells transplantation in acutely infarcting myocardium.

Eur J Heart Fail. 2005 Aug; 7(5):730-8.

[Eur J Heart Fail. 2005]

·         A promising strategy for the treatment of ischemic heart disease: Mesenchymal stem cell-mediated vascular endothelial growth factor gene transfer in rats.

Can J Cardiol. 2007 Sep; 23(11):891-8.

[Can J Cardiol. 2007]

·         Transplantation of magnetically labeled mesenchymal stem cells improves cardiac function in a swine myocardial infarction model.

Chin Med J (Engl). 2008 Mar 20; 121(6):544-50.

[Chin Med J (Engl). 2008]

·         » See reviews... | » See all...

Protein regulates movement of mitochondria in brain cells

June 15, 2009
Source: University of Rochester Medical Center

Scientists have identified a protein in the brain that plays a key role in the function of mitochondria the part of the cell that supplies energy, supports cellular activity, and potentially wards off threats from disease. The discovery, which was reported today in the Journal of Cell Biology, may shed new light on how the brain recovers from stroke.

"Understanding the molecular machinery that helps distribute mitochondria to different parts of the cell has only recently begun to be understood," said University of Rochester Medical Center neurologist David Rempe, M.D., Ph.D., the lead author of the study. "We know that in some disease states that mitochondria function is modified, so understanding how their activity is modulated is important to understanding how the brain responds to a pathological state."

Mitochondria are cellular power plants that generate most of the cell's supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used as a source of chemical energy. While mitochondria are present in all of the body's cells, some cells because of their size and purpose need to transport mitochondria to distant sites within the cell to maintain proper function. A prominent example is neurons which have a complex cellular structure that consist of a main cell body and dendrites and axons that project out from the cell core and transmit signals to adjoining cells via synapses at their terminus.

"Neurons are at a disadvantage in terms of their anatomy," said Rempe. "They put out enormous arms of axons and dendrites and they have to keep supplying nutrients and everything down these arms. The supply line is very long."

The supply line includes mitochondria which the cell must also push down the axons and dendrites to provide these parts of the cell with energy, help with the transmission of signals, and generally maintain cellular health. Mitochondria are constantly cycling throughout the neuron. Some are stationary while others are moving down the arms of the cell to assume their proper position. Additionally, for reasons not completely understood, at any given time about half of the mobile mitochondria in the neuron are in the process of returning to the cell body perhaps to be recycled or replenished in some form.

Rempe and his colleagues have discovered a protein that plays a critical role in regulating the movement or transport of mitochondria in neuron cells. The protein, which they dubbed hypoxia upregulated mitochondrial movement regulator (HUMMR), is produced in a state of low oxygen called hypoxia. HUMMR is induced by another protein called hypoxic inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1) which is responsible for triggering several processes in the cell that help it function in a low oxygen environment.

The primary role of HUMMR is to regulate the proper transport and distribution of mitochondria throughout the cell, essentially ensuring that they are in the correct position. One of the ways that the University of Rochester team was able to determine this is that when HUMMR was expressed at lower than normal levels, they observed that a greater number of the mitochondria began to abandon their posts along the cell's dendrites and axon and return to the cell body proper.

Understanding the mechanisms that regulate the movement of mitochondria may help scientists identify how the brain's cells ward off and potentially repair damage. An example is the role that mitochondria play as a calcium buffer. One of the mitochondria's functions is to help control the concentration of calcium in the cell, which the organelles can rapidly absorb and store. This capacity is important, particularly in instances when calcium levels in the cell spike during a stroke, a condition which contributes a cascading series of events that ultimately lead to a state called excitotoxicity and cell death.

One of the keys to identifying the function of HUMMR has been the appreciation in that the body operates at a relatively low oxygen level. While the air we breath consists of approximately 20% oxygen, the cells in the brain sit at somewhere between 2-5% oxygen. This creates a "normal" state of hypoxia in the brain.

However, the concentration of oxygen in the brain can drop even further in instances such as a stroke, when blood flow to a portion of the brain is cut off. This decrease in oxygen promotes the expression of HUMMR which, in turn, mobilizes mitochondria. More mitochondria in the correct position may mean the cell has a greater capacity to filter out toxic levels of calcium. Rempe and his colleagues are now investigating the role that HUMMR may play in stroke models, particularly whether or not this activity helps protect vulnerable cells that lie just outside the core areas of the brain that are damaged by stroke.

"Ultimately, these advances in our understanding of the molecular and cell biology of mitochondria have the potential to lead to novel approaches for the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders," said Rempe.

HyperMED - Heart Disease
Heart disease and HBOT

Normobaric Oxygen Therapy (breathing 100% oxygen via a mask without a hyperbaric chamber) has been used for many years in the management of ischemic heart disease (Jain 1989). It is well known that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in western countries and are reported to result in more than 1 million deaths each year in the USA. Approximately half of all cardiovascular deaths are due to coronary artery disease.

The risk factors for cardiovascular diseases include arteriosclerosis, hypertension, hypercholesteremia, diabetes, old age and smoking.

The major factor in coronary artery disease and occlusion is atherosclerosis. Kjeldsen (1969) accelerated arteriosclerosis of the aortic artery by inhalation of low percentage oxygen in cholesterol fed rabbits. Decreased oxygen accelerates hardening of major arteries. Kjeldsen (1969) furthered this theory, when exposing rabbits to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy resulting in the reversal of this atherosclerosis plaguing.

The American Heart Association endorses HBOT for Heart Attack : After being exposed to the pioneering work of hyperbaricist George Hart, MD, at the American Heart Association's (AHA) 65th Scientific Session held in New Orleans on November 16, 1992, the AHA issued a press release praising the use of hyperbaric oxygen to boost emergency treatment for heart attack. It advised medical journalists that HBO as treatment 'enhances clot-dissolving drugs' ability to minimise heart damage and save the lives of heart attack patients. The addition of HBOT resulted in earlier relief of chest pain and electrocardiogram (ECG) changes toward normal in patients treated with the clot-dissolver, tissue plasminogen activator (TPA)'.

'HBOT also tended to preserve more of the heart's blood-pumping capacity, compared to treatment with TPA alone', said Myrvin H. Ellestad, MD, director of research at the Memorial Heart Institute at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Laboratory studies have shown that hyperbaric oxygen minimizes cell damage and death by reducing fluid accumulation in the injured cells. 'We believe the same thing happens in patients,' said Dr. Ellestad. 'In heart attacks, sort of the last straw that kills cells is increasing cell water, which finally breaks the cell membrane. We believe hyperbaric oxygen's primary effect in heart attack may be to reduce edema (fluid accumulation) in heart cells.'

The Long Beach group studied forty-six heart attack patients, twenty-two who received only TPA. The remaining twenty-four patients got TPA, followed by two hours of treatment with HBOT. It provided a pure oxygen environment with twice the normal atmospheric pressure (two atmospheres absolute). Patients treated with HBO2 felt chest pain relief an average of 271 minutes after the onset of heart attack symptoms, a statistically significant difference compared to the 671 minutes for patients who received only TPA. Dr. Ellestad said patients 'generally reported an easing of chest pain within ten minutes of entering the hyperbaric chamber'.

HBOT reduced by 50 percent the time required for the heart to resume normal electrical activity, as determined by electrocardiogram (ECG) finding called 'ST normalization'. (S and T waves are two specific points on an ECG tracing).

The time was 188 minutes for patients who went into the chamber compared with 374 minutes for those who did not. 'We've clearly shown that pain goes away very quickly and ST elevation, which we think is a sign of the heart muscle dying, returns to normal more rapidly,' said Dr. Ellestad. 'To me, the most dramatic aspect of the study was watching as ST elevation returned to normal after a patient went into the chamber. That tells me we're salvaging heart muscle cells.' There's some evidence that HBO2 decreases activity by oxygen free radicals. These are unstable molecules known to damage or destroy cells.

Patients who received HBOT also resulted with 'significantly lower blood levels of the enzyme creatine phosphokinase, which is released during a heart attack and indicates the extent of heart muscle damage'. These patients also had a higher ejection fraction, a measurement that reflects how well the heart can pump blood. Dr. Ellestad sees potential for even better results with HBO2 if patients can begin oxygen therapy sooner.

Transporting patients to a hyperbaric chamber facility and preparing them for treatment requires about thirty minutes. He and his colleagues hope to reduce that time at Long Beach Memorial by relocating the hyperbaric chamber to the hospital's emergency room. This comment is obviously not applicable in Australia given the fact that hyperbaric facilities are limited in number with conditions treated restricted to only the 'approved list'.

Physician interest in Hyperbaric Medicine as a treatment for heart attack patients goes back a number of years; however, the interest dwindled after the emergence of TPA and other clot-dissolving agents. Then, an unusual event prompted Dr. Ellestad and his colleagues to take another look at HBOT. George Hart, MD, director of the Hyperbaric unit at the hospital and an investigator in the study reported at the AHA 1992 New Orleans meeting, began having chest pains and decided to treat himself in the oxygen chamber. The HBOT relieved his heart pain in minutes. Being friends, Dr. Ellestad checked out what Dr. Hart explained about his HBOT experience.

'Hyperbaric chambers are not standard equipment at either hospitals and or medical centres. HBOT adds additional costs between US $200 and up to $750 per day depending upon the facility and internal costs to the daily cost of treating a heart attack patient,' Dr. Ellestad said. The Long Beach Memorial Hospital's investigation is just one among many facilities now utilising the benefits of HBOT in the treatment and management of patients with heart disease.



Metabolic effects of Hyperbaric Medicine on the Heart
Mitochondrial respiratory rate is an essential component of myocardial function. Reduction of oxygen tension results in suppression of mitochondrial activity, which leads to abnormal physiological activity and response. Reduction of oxygen tension results in the reduction of the physiological capacity of cardiac energy metabolism.

Bondarenko (1981) studied the influence of HBOT on tissue metabolism in patients with cardiac insufficiency. Metabolic effects of HBOT are not secondary to changes of systemic circulation but in fact precede them, due to the direct action of hypoxia on the metabolic processes in peripheral tissues. HBOT was reported to have immediate positive metabolic effects on damaged cardiac tissue.

Vesselinovitch (1974) reported regression of atherosclerosis in rabbits on a combined regimen of low fat diet, hypolipidemic agents and Hyperbaric oxygen Therapy. Further studies performed by Okamoto (1983) recorded that hyperoxia (40% oxygen) reduces atherosclerosis, and hypoxia (5-10% oxygen) aggravates atherosclerotic lesions by direct action on the vessel wall. 



Hyperbaric Medicine and Myocardial Infarction
There is considerable evidence that Hyperbaric Oxygenation will favourably influence the outcome in the acute myocardial infarction patient.

Koerner (1971) recommended oxygen concentrations at 50% for inhalation to counteract hypoxia. Kones (1971) recommended 100% oxygen inhalation to overcome hypoxia and to provide counter measures of metabolic influence.

Vin (1986) studied the effects of HBOT on myocardial infarction induced in rabbits. ECG monitoring as well as post mortem examination of the heart was done after three weeks of HBOT (2 ATA, performed for two hours daily). ECG changes cleared up in the HBOT treated animals and post mortem examinations of the heart revealed only minimal damage. ECG changes (ST segmental elevation) persisted in the untreated control animals, and post mortem examinations showed marked fatty degeneration in the heart muscle.

Cameron (1966) investigated the hemodynamic and metabolic effects of HBOT in 10 patients with acute myocardial infarction who breathed air, oxygen at atmospheric pressure or oxygen at 2 ATA. Under HBOT conditions, the systemic vascular resistance rose progressively accompanied by reduction of cardiac output and stroke volume. Patients with raised lactic acid levels had these reduced when they were exposed to HBOT. 

The authors concluded that HBOT was beneficial with patients : 

  a.. hypoxia and hypotension (low blood pressure)

  b.. suffering metabolic acidosis

  c.. who have responded poorly to conventional therapy

Collective studies report that Hyperbaric Oxygenation will benefit the heart that has suffered multiple small infarcts due to thrombosis or small vessel embolus. Massive single infarct is recorded to be more difficult to treat. Revascularisation is limited to the margins of massive infarcts with residual damage.

Thurston (1973) carried out the first recorded randomised controlled investigation into the effects of Hyperbaric Oxygenation. Of 208 post myocardial patients, 103 were treated with HBOT and 105 controls were treated by conventional methods at a London based hospital coronary care. 17 (16.5%) of the patients in the HBOT group died compared with 24 (22.9%) in the control group. Detailed analysis revealed that using the benefits of HBOT halved the mortality rate in the high-risk patients.

The only patients' in the study that survived cardiogenic shock were in fact the HBOT group. The incidences of arrhythmias were lower in the HBOT group and many of them were reported to have completely disappeared with the HBOT treatments. The authors concluded that HBOT was effective in both the treatment and the overall management of cardiac myocardial infarction.

Efuni (1983) used HBOT as a combined therapy (antioxidant therapy) in acute myocardial infarction in 30 patients. HBOT was performed at 1.5-2.0 ATA for 60-90 minute intervals but the treatment course was limited to six sessions only. All patients had acute myocardial infarction of the left ventricle with damage to the anterior wall of the heart and the time since the affliction was 12-48 hours. After six HBOT sessions, cardiac output and stroke volume was recorded to have increased. Decrease in lactate : pyruvate ratio with a fall in metabolic acidosis was also observed. 



Hyperbaric Medicine and chronic ischemic Heart Disease : (angina pectoris)
Smetnev (1979) treated 79 patients with chronic ischemic heart disease using Hyperbaric Oxygenation. 52 of these patients suffered angina pectoris and 25 had multifocal postinfarction cardiosclerosis with insufficiency of both systemic and pulmonary circulation. HBOT in combination with drug therapy alleviated or arrested the symptoms of angina and corrected the central hemodynamics in the other patients.

Kuleshova and Flora (1981) reported the effects of HBOT in the rehabilitation of 233 patients with ischemic heart disease. All patents received physical therapy, autogenic training, massage and walking exercises. Group 1 (179 patients) received HBOT whilst group 2 (54 patients) served as controls.

HBOT was commenced daily for 60 minutes with exposures at 1.5-2.0 ATA. There was immediate improvement in angina pectoris symptoms of the HBOT group :

  a.. 72% of the HBOT group reported a reduction and clearance in arrhythmias

  b.. HBOT group performed at higher exercise load and duration than the non-HBOT group

  c.. HBOT group also adapted better to physical challenges

It was concluded that inclusion of Hyperbaric Oxygenation significantly enhanced the functional compensatory possibilities in cardiovascular disease.

Goliakov (1986) studied the effects of HBOT on thromboelastogram, platelet aggregation and prothrombin index in 40 patients with angina pectoris. There was a decrease of fibrinogen and fibrinogen degradation products and clinical effectiveness in 84% of the patients. Eroshina (1986) showed that HBOT improved myocardial contractility in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease. Goliakov (1986) demonstrated the effects of HBOT in reducing platelet aggregation and the serum fibrinogen content was shown to produce a favourable effect in 84% of the 40 patients with angina pectoris.



Hyperbaric Medicine and Cardiac Arrhythmias
Sinus bradycardia is the common physiological response to HBOT. During the treatment of acute myocardial infarction with HBOT numerous clinical observations confirm the improvement of cardiac arrhythmias.

Allaria (1973) observed that patients who suffered electrocution had residual ECG abnormalities, which were reversed with HBOT. Zhivoderov (1980) noted disorders of rhythm and conductivity in 85% of 75 patients with myocardial infarction after the 15th day following the onset of the disease. Hyperbaric Oxygenation was used in 14 patients and it was observed that arrhythmias disappeared after the initial 10-12 exposures to HBOT.

Isakov (1981) used HBOT in 31 patients suffering paroxysmal tachyarrhythmias in ischemic heart disease and concluded that the frequency and duration of the paroxysms was reduced and that long-term remission occurred with ongoing HBOT treatments. HBOT was also reported to reduce the number of extrasystoles.

Zhivoderov (1982) applied HBOT to 29 patents with ischemic heart disease (68.9%). In 17 patients there was reported a disappearance of the extrasystoles, which allowed the physical activity of the patients to be increased. There was no change in the acid-base balance resulting from HBOT treatments. Among 28 patients where HBOT was used along with antiarrhythmic drugs, improvement was observed in 21 cases (77.8%). Goliakov (1986) showed improvement of ventricular extrasystoles in 67% of the coronary disease patients treated with HBOT. 



Hyperbaric Medicine as an adjunct to heart surgery
Boerema (1961) was the first to report the use of HBOT in performing cardiac surgery. Meijne (1973) considered HBOT to be indicated in palliative cardiac surgery for high-risk cases. Efuni (1977) applied HBOT in the treatment of congestive circulatory insufficiency in patients with rheumatic mitral disease. The surgery consisted of mitral replacement with artificial valve insertion. The operative mortality with HBOT was 9.3% compared with 18-26% for similar operations conducted without HBOT.

The Sixth International Congress of Hyperbaric Medicine in Aberdeen, Scotland, reported the benefits of HBOT in cardiac surgery as follows :

  a.. HBOT increases the safe time on induced cardiac arrest

  b.. HBOT reduces hypoxic complication and metabolic disturbances associated with heart surgery

  c.. HBOT enables surgery to be performed without blood transfusion in certain patients

  d.. HBOT is the treatment of choice for air embolism associated with heart surgery

  e.. HBOT has been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of low cardiac output syndrome developing after heart surgery, and associated pulmonary hypertension (Yacoub '65) 

Hyperbaric Medicine and the prevention of coronary artery disease
Atherosclerosis can be reversed with hyperoxia (increased Oxygenation). Recent publications from the USA indicate that Hyperbaric Medicine is available in most sophisticated cardiac hospital and medical facilities. The benefits for both patient and hospital are quicker recuperation and a significant reduction in mortality and associated complications.

HBOT has been demonstrated to reduce mortality in all cardiac associated complications. It reduces the size of infarcts and cardiac scarring, and improves heart stroke volume and ECG findings. HBOT reduces or totally eliminates cardiac arrhythmias without the use of drugs.

Hyperbaric Medicine provides adjunctive benefits to the cardiac patient (Jain 1995) :

  a.. HBOT improves the capacity for exercise, thereby reducing hypertensive complications

  b.. HBOT prevents recurrence of ischemic episodes

  c.. HBOT decreases blood pressure in hypertensives

  d.. HBOT reduces atherosclerosis when used on an ongoing basis



Acupuncture reduces Myocardial Ischemia in Animal Model
Recent publication reported in Reuters Health (13-6-00):- 'Electroacupuncture improves blood pressure response and reduces myocardial ischemia during stimulation of abdominal organs in an animal model of coronary artery disease'.

'Rather than increasing blood flow, we found that electro-acupuncture reduces myocardial oxygen demand via opiate mechanisms,' Dr. John C. Longhurst, of the University of California at Irvine, reported during a presentation at the Workshop on Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cardiovascular, Lung and Blood Research at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Longhurst and colleagues used an animal model with partial coronary artery occlusion to study the influence of electroacupuncture on myocardial ischemia.

After applying bradykinin to the animals' gallbladders, the acupuncture point called, Neiguan which is located over the median nerve on the wrist, was stimulated with electro-acupuncture to improve the 'imbalance between Oxygen supply and demand.'

Dr. Longhurst said, 'Stimulation of Neiguan directly affected fibres in the median nerve which subsequently activated opioid receptors in the brain (rostral ventrolateral medulla), inhibiting sympathetic outflow decreasing the pressor response induced by application of bradykinin on the gallbladder.'

'Our results suggest that both endorphins and enkephalins are the main neuromodulators, and that beta receptors are very important,' said Dr. Longhurst, 'the biggest challenge for researchers will be to identify specific acupuncture points that impact higher neurological and systemic influences.

We have seen from a number of studies that electro-acupuncture seems to be effective in reducing hypertension, arrhythmias and angina, but further studies are needed to pinpoint all of the acupuncture points.'

Inconjunction to HBOT directed for cardiac and related consulting patients; electro-acupuncture is applied to enhance the mechanisms and benefits of collective treatments. 



Antibiotic may help prevent Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
A recent report in Reuters Health - Doxycycline may become the first pharmacologic therapy to prevent the expansion of aortic aneurysms, based on results of studies in mice. 'We expect the development of pharmacological treatments such as doxycycline will diminish the need for surgical repair,' Dr. Robert W. Thompson, of Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, Missouri, speculates in a statement from the University.

Dr. Thompson and colleagues developed a mouse model of delayed abdominal aortic aneurysm by perfusing the aortas of a series of mice with elastase. Since matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in the rupture of such aneurysms in humans, they examined the effects of doxycycline, an antibiotic that is a non-selective MMP inhibitor, in this model.

The degeneration of elastase-induced aortic aneurysms was suppressed by treatment with doxycycline, reported scientists in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. This effect appears to be largely due to the suppression of MMP-9, since disruption of the gene encoding this enzyme also prevented the progression and rupture of aneurysms. Genetic deficiency of another MMP specifically implicated in aneurysm development, MMP-12, did not prevent aneurysm development on its own, but enhanced the protective effect of MMP-9 deletion when both genes were disrupted.

The findings demonstrate that 'MMP-9 plays a critical role in an experimental model of aortic aneurysm disease,' Dr. Thompson and colleagues say. Further studies revealed that inflammatory cells, particularly mononuclear phagocytes, are the primary source of MMP-9 at the site of elastase-induced aneurysms.

'This might turn out to be the first feasible pharmacological therapy for preventing aneurysm expansion in patients,' Dr. Thompson says in a statement from Washington University. According to the statement, Dr. Thompson and colleagues have already demonstrated in pilot studies that 'doxycycline can reduce the size of aortic aneurysms in patients before surgical aneurysm repair'. The team has also confirmed that doxycycline is safe and well tolerated in this patient population (J Clin Invest 2000;105:1641-1649).



Conclusion
The nature of heart disease is such that insufficient oxygen is getting to the heart. This results in various discomforts, which affect the patient including difficulty breathing, inability to exert self, pressure in the chest and a host of other secondary systemic problems. Dr Steenblock advocates HBOT as an 'internal organ stabilizer' and identifies the following :

  a.. HBOT applied to the heart during critical loss of oxygen exerts a remarkable defibrillating effect so that tremulous, rapid, ineffectual contractions are prevented (this offsets the collapse of the heart muscle which can otherwise lead to untimely death)

  b.. HBOT combined with specific drugs enhances the effectiveness of both oxygen delivery and the drugs

  c.. Combining HBOT with selective drugs completely arrests or considerably reduces angina attacks in patients otherwise resistant to prolonged drug treatments

  d.. Patients with cardiac pain from ischemic heart disease experience complete relief along with disappearance of dyspnea (difficulty breathing) with HBOT

  e.. HBOT lowers elevated blood cholesterol (Borukhov)

  f.. HBOT normalizes electrocardiograms (ECGs) in Soviet study

  g.. HBOT exerts long term normalizing effects promoting circulating blood throughout the entire body in patient's with diminished muscular power of the heart

  h.. HBOT exerts anti-arrhythmic action on the damaged heart

  i.. Increases patient's tolerance to hard work and taking on physical loads

Stroke and Cortical blindness after surgery

www.hbot4u.com

Dear Susan & Rapid Recovery Staff –

In 2001, during a routine surgery, I suffered a traumatic brain injury due to hypoxia/anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) with resulted in cortical blindness.  I was in a coma for several months, followed by INTENSE in-patient and out-patient physical therapy, and all the doctors I consulted said that there was nothing else that could be done; my vision and motor skills would not improve.  Initially, I could see only colors and blurs, but it was like looking through a very dense fog. 

In 2002, I started HBOT treatments and began noting very small changes, such as more vivid colors and glints from shiny objects.  As treatment continued, I was gradually able to distinguish nuances in color, and I could make out shapes such as billboards or brand name signage, like logos of certain businesses.  As of now, I can make out, with patience, words that are formed with 4" letters, ambulances, radio towers, street signs, and hair on people's arms.  To be sure, these images are stilled blurred, but I no longer see things through a fog, and I believe that my vision is improving, albeit slowly.  My speech and motor skills also appear to be getting better, and I believe that these changes are due in large part to the HBOT treatments I have received.  For a while, I substituted HBOT with acupuncture, but I believe the ancillary treatment worked more as a complement, not a substitute, for oxygen therapy.   It is after I returned to you, in fact, that I was able to make out words. 

Thank you for your continued help.  If there are others with cortical blindness who are considering oxygen treatment, I strongly encourage them to give Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics a try.  

Sincerely,

Frances Castruita-Reyes Age 49

www.hbot4u.com

Childhood Stroke Often Has Multiple Causes

Laurie Barclay, MD

Nov. 15, 2002 — Strokes in children are rare, often have multiple causes, and have a different spectrum of risk factors than do strokes in adults, according to a report published online Nov. 15 in the Annals of Neurology. The investigators recommend a thorough evaluation seeking treatable causes to prevent recurrence.

"Our results confirm that rather than having a single cause, childhood stroke is a multifactorial process," lead author Vijeya Ganesan, MD, from the Institute of Child Health in London, U.K., says in a news release. "In contrast to some previous studies, completely unexplained stroke was rare if patients were evaluated in detail."

In this retrospective review of 212 pediatric patients who presented with a first arterial ischemic stroke, median age was five years, and 54% were male. As was found in earlier studies, about half (97 patients) had previous diagnoses of conditions predisposing to stroke, such as congenital heart disease or sickle cell disease. Among the remaining 115 patients who were healthy before stroke onset, 23 had a recent history of head trauma and 68 had had chickenpox. These conditions were significantly more common than in the group with previous diagnoses.

Cerebral arterial imaging was done in 185 patients (87%) and was abnormal in 79%. Abnormal imaging was significantly associated with systolic blood pressure greater than the 90th percentile, and there was a trend toward association with varicella infection in the previous year.

Treatable risk factors included anemia in 40% of patients, and elevated total plasma homocysteine or homozygosity for the t-MTHFR mutation in 21%. Of 104 echocardiograms in previously healthy patients, only eight were abnormal. Genetic or acquired conditions causing thrombophilia were also rare.

According to Dr. Ganesan, these findings suggest that all children who suffer stroke should have comprehensive evaluations, even if the cause of the stroke seems obvious.

"Risk factors for stroke in children are very different from those in adults. They do not include atherosclerosis, hypertension, or life style issues," says Gabrielle deVeber, MD, from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. She is a pediatric stroke expert who was not affiliated with the study. "The study will help to sort out which risk factors are most common in children and should be investigated in patients following stroke. Future research will assess which treatments would help to prevent some or most of these risk factors."

Ann Neurol. November 15, 2002.
Reviewed by Gary D. Vogin, MD

Reprinted with Permission

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Top 10 Terrific Traits of Autistic People

If you're sick of hearing about all the "deficits" challenging people on the autism spectrum, join the club. But for every down side to autism, there seems to be a positive -- an unusual trait that rarely appears among the "typical" community, but shines out among autistic folk. These plusses are well worth celebrating.

1. Autistic People Rarely Lie
We all claim to value the truth, but almost all of us tell little white lies. All, that is, except people on the autism spectrum. To them, truth is truth -- and a good word from a person on the spectrum is the real deal.

2. People on the Autism Spectrum Live in the Moment
How often do typical people fail to notice what's in front of their eyes because they're distracted by social cues or random chitchat? People on the autism spectrum truly attend to the sensory input that surrounds them. Many have achieved the ideal of mindfulness.

3. People with Autism Rarely Judge Others
Who's fatter? Richer? Smarter? For people on the autism spectrum, these distinctions hold much less importance than for typical folks. In fact, people on the spectrum often see through such surface appearances to discover the real person.

4. Autistic People are Passionate
Of course, not all autistic people are alike. But many are truly passionate about the things, ideas and people in their lives. How many "typical" people can say the same?

5. People with Autism Are Not Tied to Social Expectations
If you've ever bought a car, played a game or joined a club to fit in, you know how hard it is to be true to yourself. But for people with autism, social expectations can be honestly irrelevant. What matters is true liking, interest and passion -- not keeping up with the Joneses.

6. People with Autism Have Terrific Memories
How often do typical people forget directions, or fail to take note of colors, names, and other details? People on the autism spectrum are often much more tuned in to details. They may have a much better memory than their typical peers for all kind of critical details.

7. Autistic People Are Less Materialistic
Of course, this is not universally true -- but in general, people with autism are far less concerned with outward appearance than their typical peers. As a result, they worry less about brand names, hairstyles and other expensive but unimportant externals than most people do.

8. Autistic People Play Fewer Head Games
Who was that woman, and why were you looking at her? I know I TOLD you I didn't mind if you went out, but why did you believe me? Most autistic people don't play games like these -- and they assume that you won't either. It's a refreshing and wonderful change from the Peyton Place emotional roller coaster that mars too many typical relationships!

9. Autistic People Have Fewer Hidden Agendas
Most of the time, if a person on the autism spectrum tells you what he wants -- he is telling you what he wants. No need to beat around the bush, second guess, and hope you're reading between the lines!

10. People with Autism Open New Doors for Neurotypicals
For some of us neurotypicals, having an autistic person in our lives has had a profound positive impact on our perceptions, beliefs and expectations. For me, at least, being the mom of a son on the autism spectrum has released me from a lifetime of "should" -- and offered me a new world of "is."