Through the generous
gift of the family of one of her patients, Dr. Davis is able
to offer mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy to other patients who have
brain injury or who are otherwise suffering from impaired brain
function. These patients may include persons who suffer from
problems due to exposure to a variety of chemicals, or other toxic
materials. She has experienced that mild hyperbaric oxygen
therapy has been beneficial to her patients who have autism spectrum
disorders.
In a clinical study conducted
by Dr. Gunnar Heuser, M.D., Phd., FACP, a toxic exposure specialist,
Dr. Heuser documented the results of a series of hyperbaric treatments
on 9 patients suffering from impaired brain function. The purpose
was to study the effects of 1.3 ATA of hyperbaric therapy on those
patients. His patients included individuals who suffered from
impairment of brain function such as memory and balance due to years
of exposure to a variety of chemicals, pesticides and solvents.
Some patients had developed attention deficit disorder and may well
have been experiencing disabling effects that altered their quality
of life. There was no brain cell death in those patients, only
loss of function.
Each patient was given a series of 10 hyperbaric
treatments; one hour per day for five consecutive days for two weeks.
To objectively test the effects of the hyperbaric sessions, SPECT
brain scans were taken of each patient's brain before and after the
series of treatments. Every one of the patients who participated
in the study showed improvements after only 10 treatments. Reporting
fewer problems with short-term memory, balance, headaches and other
symptoms of poor circulation in the brain. The
SPECT brain scans objectively
confirmed an increase in blood flow and oxygen to effected areas of
the brain such as the temporal lobe, the part of the brain where short-term
memory is located. The improvements in the temporal lobe seen
in the SPECT brain scans were verified when the patient regained
his short-term memory.
