If you recall we have posted about hyperbaric oxygen therapy for TBI and concussions; mainly about how there seems to be promise shown but little research that is accepted/supported for that. Now the Navy League of the United States is giving a presentation on HBOT for treating Veterans.
The event is November 9th in Arlington, Virginia; granted a lot of you reading will not be able to go, but perhaps you know someone (that knows someone) that would be interested in the DC area. Here is the press release I challenge people to find someone to attend (I called my uncle);
IEDs cause over 70% of U. S. Casualties in Afghanistan. TBI and PTSD have become the “Signature Injuries” of that conflict. There are between 200,000 and 600,000 combatants who have been diagnosed with TBI/PTSD.
Untreated TBI/PTSD can bring with it disabling symptoms, including loss of short-term memory and executive functioning , migraines, sleep disruption, loss of impulse control, depression, rapid mood changes, photophobia and hyper-vigilance. Left untreated, the disabled individual may find himself out of the service, in foreign and strange emotional disruptions with his family, unable to hold a job, unable to get help from an admittedly overwhelmed Veteran’s Affairs Department, reduced life in a homeless shelter, and/or at the mercy of impulses to suicide (military-related suicides are at record levels).
Among promising – yet unused – treatments for these cognitive and neurological deficiencies is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), the application of life-giving and healing oxygen under pressure. This technique has been used safely and efficaciously by the Navy for over 60 years to reverse the damage to the brain from decompression sickness or “the Bends”. DOD still will not allow it to be used.
The Navy League Symposium in Arlington VA on 9 November 2011 will turn a spotlight on HBOT for brain injury, detailing the experience, scientific research and drama of recovery that has been gained and is practiced increasingly widely in the private medical sector through this virtually risk-free procedure. Low-pressure HBOT treatments (at 1.5 atmospheres, referred to as HBOT 1.5) activate gene codes for growth and repair – including to the brain – through increased propagation of stem cells. HBOT has been approved for 13 applications for other forms of injury, including crush/blast wounds. HBOT has dramatically reduced healing times for burns and skin grafts among other wound-healing applications. The FDA – permitted use of HBOT in in the treatment of diabetic foot wounds – a treatment analogous to the effect in diabetic foot wounds – has demonstrably saved $348 Million for Medicare while trading naturally cured, restored healthy feet for unnecessary amputations (the VA at 3,000 amputations per year has yet to utilize HBOT for diabetic foot-wound recovery !!).
Please join us at Navy League Headquarters in discussing HBOT and particularly HBOT 1.5 with skilled, experienced practicing physicians and experts. Hear from TBI-crippled, HBOT 1.5 – restored battlefield casualties themselves how HBOT 1.5 has given them their lives back with comrades, families and community.
A two-hour discussion with experts and TBI/PTSD casualties will be held from 3:00 to 5:00 (1500 to 1700 hours). From 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. a gripping and informative video will be presented and refreshments served at the Navy League Headquarters to accompany further searching discussion of the current withholding of this treatment from incapacitated battle casualties.
Rob
-- Rob Beckman rbeckman@ix.netcom.com I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~Elwyn Brooks Whit
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