Pure Oxygen May Treat Children’s Cerebral Palsy

A new, local study in Ohio is testing whether pure oxygen treatments delivered in a pressurized chamber can enhance motor functions in children who have cerebral palsy, a group of disorders caused by severe damage to the brain.

The study conducted by Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine, Children’s Medical Center, and Kettering Medical Center will evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on children suffering from spastic cerebral palsy, which affects control of movement and posture.

“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used all over the world,” said Dr. Daniel Lacey, a pediatric neurologist with Children’s Medical Center and the lead author of the study.

“Tens of thousands of kids have been put in these chambers mostly because traditional medicine doesn’t have a whole lot to offer kids with cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, there have not been many good research studies to show that it works.”

Lacey and his research team have already enrolled 5 participants in the study and need 80 more volunteers between the ages of three to eight who have never received hyperbaric therapy before.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment, also called “diving,” involves a small chamber in which atmospheric pressure is raised to imitate scuba diving. A child sits in a hospital-sized room with a plastic hood over his/her head and receives pure oxygen to the brain that stimulates damaged or inactive brain cells.

“These brain cells are sleeping or idling; they’re not fully function,” Lacey said. “If you can get more oxygen deeper inside the brain, then you can awaken them. That’s the hope and the theory.”

Each hyperbaric therapy session lasts for an hour and must be administered five days a week for eight weeks. Half of the children in the study will receive 100 percent oxygen and the other half will get 21 percent oxygen, or the equivalent of room air.

After 40 treatments are completed, researchers will observe the gross motor function of each child and will evaluate the effects three and six months after treatments are completely done.

Lacey predicts the study should be completed by 2009 and if the therapy is effective, insurance companies and the government may be persuaded to cover the costs, which add up to about $100 per session.

Is your child receiving treatment for cerebral pasly? Contact a cerebral palsy lawyer to find out if your child is eligible to obtain compensation to help cover the cost of treatment.