Review
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment in autism spectrum disorders
1 Rossignol Medical Center, 3800 West Eau Gallie Blvd., Melbourne, FL, 32934, USA
2 International Child Development Resource Center, 104 Colony Park Dr. Suite 600, Cumming, GA, 30040, USA
3 Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Tempe, AZ, USA
4 Wisconsin Integrative Hyperbaric Center, 6200 Nesbitt Road, Fitchburg, WI, 53719, USA
5 Center for Autism Research and Education, 4045 East Union Hills Drive, Suite 116, Phoenix, AZ, 85050, USA
6 Stockton Family Practice, Stockton Center for Health Care, 56 South Main Street, Suites A & B, Stockton, NJ, 08559, USA
7 Center for Autism & Integrative Health, 3 Hollyhock Lane, Wilton, CT, 06897, USA
8 Cypress Integrative Medicine, 10562 South Glenstone Place, Baton Rouge, LA, 70810, USA
9 Pediatric Partners of Ponte Vedra, 5270 Palm Valley Road, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, 32082, USA
10 The Rimland Center, 2919 Confederate Ave, Lynchburg, VA, 24501, USA
11 Department of Pediatrics, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72202, USA
Medical Gas Research 2012, 2:16 doi:10.1186/2045-9912-2-16
Published: 15 June 2012Abstract
Traditionally, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) is indicated in several clinical disorders include decompression sickness, healing of problem wounds and arterial gas embolism. However, some investigators have used HBOT to treat individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A number of individuals with ASD possess certain physiological abnormalities that HBOT might ameliorate, including cerebral hypoperfusion, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Studies of children with ASD have found positive changes in physiology and/or behavior from HBOT. For example, several studies have reported that HBOT improved cerebral perfusion, decreased markers of inflammation and did not worsen oxidative stress markers in children with ASD. Most studies of HBOT in children with ASD examined changes in behaviors and reported improvements in several behavioral domains although many of these studies were not controlled. Although the two trials employing a control group reported conflicting results, a recent systematic review noted several important distinctions between these trials. In the reviewed studies, HBOT had minimal adverse effects and was well tolerated. Studies which used a higher frequency of HBOT sessions (e.g., 10 sessions per week as opposed to 5 sessions per week) generally reported more significant improvements. Many of the studies had limitations which may have contributed to inconsistent findings across studies, including the use of many different standardized and non-standardized instruments, making it difficult to directly compare the results of studies or to know if there are specific areas of behavior in which HBOT is most effective. The variability in results between studies could also have been due to certain subgroups of children with ASD responding differently to HBOT. Most of the reviewed studies relied on changes in behavioral measurements, which may lag behind physiological changes. Additional studies enrolling children with ASD who have certain physiological abnormalities (such as inflammation, cerebral hypoperfusion, and mitochondrial dysfunction) and which measure changes in these physiological parameters would be helpful in further defining the effects of HBOT in ASD.
