Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Chronic Stable Brain Injury — HYBOBI  

Stroke Clinical Trial

Official title: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Chronic Stable Brain Injury

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to discover the feasibility of conducting clinical research in individuals with chronic sequelae following brain injury who are given hyperbaric oxygen. This study will also look at the outcome of individuals with a chronic stable brain injury due to trauma, anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain), or stroke, who are given hyperbaric oxygen. Outcome measures testing cognitive (memory, etc.) and functional (balance, strength, etc.) measures will be performed before the hyperbaric sessions, immediately following them, and 6 months later. The subject will receive 60 hyperbaric sessions, 60 minutes in the chamber, to a pressure of 1.5 ATA, once daily, Monday through Friday.

Clinical Trial Description

Hyperbaric oxygen is presently being used in an attempt to improve functional outcome following a multitude of brain injuries such as stroke, anoxic brain injury, traumatic brain injury, and others. Family members of brain-injured individuals correspond via the Internet into coalitions demanding that their loved ones receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy. There are anecdotal reports of benefit with hyperbaric oxygen following brain injury but there is little credible scientific evidence for efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen in brain injury. Clearly, what is needed to answer if hyperbaric oxygen improves brain injury are results from carefully designed multi-center, prospective, randomized controlled clinical trials. However, the implementation of such a Phase III clinical trial is challenging without information from Phase II trials. We propose to conduct a feasibility trial that may potentially guide a future Phase III clinical trial.

Mechanisms by which hyperbaric oxygen improves sequelae following brain injury are speculative. Hyperbaric oxygen upregulates growth factor receptor sites on human endothelium and can stimulate healing in hypoxic wounds. It is conceivable that hyperbaric oxygen exerts similar effects within damaged neuronal tissue but this information is lacking. Stem cells are present in the adult brain and there is speculation that hyperbaric oxygen may stimulate these stem cells to generate new neurons, but once again, this information is speculative.

In this Phase II feasibility prospective clinical trial, we propose to recruit and enroll 70 brain-injured subjects and expose them daily to hyperbaric oxygen at 1.5 atmospheres absolute for 60 minutes per session, for 60 sessions per subject. This research protocol is the one most commonly used by practitioners who claim benefit with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Before and after the 60 hyperbaric oxygen sessions, and at 6 months following completion of hyperbaric oxygen, outcome measures consisting of neuropsychological testing, functional measures, health-related quality of life measures, and a neurological examination will be conducted and analyzed with the subjects serving as their own controls. Important information regarding a subsequent Phase III clinical trial, including subject recruitment, tolerance and risk of therapy, dropout rate, and potential benefit or lack of benefit with hyperbaric oxygen will be reported. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anoxia
• Brain Injuries
• Brain Injury
• Hypoxia
• Sequelae
• Stroke
• Trauma
• Wounds and Injuries

• NCT number: NCT00830453
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Intermountain Health Care, Inc.
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: November 2003
• Completion date: December 2010