How does the Oxford Method help treat Traumatic Brain Injury?

There are no drugs on the market that can restore brain cells which have been damaged due to a traumatic injury. And while various kinds of therapies can be helpful, they cannot address the root cause of underlying brain imbalances.

So, what are the root causes of the imbalances created by a TBI? Recent advances in neuroscience reveal the root causes include a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain, lack of specific brain chemicals, and brainwave imbalances.

Let’s look at all these causes a little more in depth: Inside the brain, we have billions of brain cells, called neurons, sending electrical signals to each other, which we measure as brainwaves. These electrical signals cause the brain cells to release small chemicals called neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline.

This vast network of brain cells is fed with oxygen and other nutrients by blood from over 100,000 miles of blood vessels inside the brain. For people who have suffered a TBI, there is often not enough of these blood vessels supplying oxygen and important nutrients.

This lack of nutrients begins to cause brainwave imbalances, as measured by an EEG scan. This, in turn, causes a downstream effect on brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, meaning that the brain cells start producing too little or too much of the chemicals they need. Neurotransmitters imbalances are further exacerbated by nutritional deficiencies in the person’s diet, especially of key vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids.

So, how do we start correcting a potentially multifaceted problem?

One of our most important tools at Oxford Recovery Center is called hyperbaric oxygen. This therapy actually causes new blood vessel growth in the brain and causes the brain to generate new stem cells which turn into new brain cells. 

Another important tool is neurofeedback therapy. We use neurofeedback to scan your brain’s electrical signals and reset them with non-invasive feedback in the form of sound.

And finally, neurotransmitter therapy and dietary coaching is used to correct nutritional deficiencies which are underlying the brain chemical imbalances—imbalances that we can find through laboratory testing we provide.

We strive to offer the most comprehensive research-based recovery program available for TBIs, and we are happy to serve you by taking as much time as we need to answer your specific questions.

Research

• [Hyperbaric oxygen improves long-term learning-memory deficits and brain injury in neonatal rat with hypoxia-ischemia brain damage]: Researchers found that HBOT significantly improves long-term learning-memory deficits and attenuates brain injury in rats with hypoxia-ischemia brain damage [Article in Chinese]
• A prospective, randomized clinical trial to compare the effect of hyperbaric to normobaric hyperoxia on cerebral metabilism, intracranial pressure, and oxygen toxicity in severe traumatic brain injury: Researchers found that HBOT produces a brain tissue P02 greater than or equal to 200 mm Hg more robustly than normobaric hyperoxia (NBH).
• Delayed hyperbaric oxygenation is more effective than early prolonged normobaric hyperoxia in experimental focal cerebral ischemia: Researchers concluded that HBOT is more effective than normobaric oxygen (NBO) therapy in transient experimental ischemia.
• Effect of hyperbaric oxygen administered at different pressures and different exposure time on differentiation of neural stem cells in vitro: Researchers found that HBOT at the 2 ATA and 60 minutes treatment protocol produced the best effect in the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) into stem cells in vitro [Article in Chinese]
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (1.5 ATA) in treating Sports Related TBI/CTE: two case reports: Dr. Kenneth Stoller, MD identifies that HBOT may be adopted as a non-invasive therapy to treat acute and chronic traumatic brain injury.
• Hyperbaric oxygen treatment attenuated the decrease in regional glucose metabolism of rats subjected to focal cerebral ischemia – a high resolution positron emission tomography study: Researchers found that early exposure to HBOT can partially reverse the downward trend for glucose utilization in ischemic areas, which could be responsible for reported beneficial effects of HBOT for permanent cerebral ischemia.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic brain injury: Dr. Huang and Dr. Obenaus found HBOT is neuroprotective and exerts more robust and long-lasting effects in the absence of pulmonary or cerebral oxygen toxicity than normobaric oxygen therapy (NBOT). Additionally, findings show that HBOT shows neuroprotective effects in the absence of incrased oxygen toxicity at pressures less than 3 ATA.
• Hyperbaric oxygen induces endogenous neural stem cells to proliferate and differentiate in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonatal rats
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes neurogenesis: Where do we stand?
• Hyperbaric oxygen in traumatic brain injury
• Hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning induces tolerance against brain ischemia–reperfusion injury by upregulation of antioxidant enzymes in rats
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves spatial learning and memory in a rat model of chronic traumatic brain injury
• Neuroprotective effects of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on traumatic brain injury in the rat
• Pilot case study of the therapeutic potential of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on chronic brain injury
• Preconditioning with hyperbaric oxygen attenuates brain edema after experimental intracerebral hemorrhage
• Pressure-related Increase of Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Caused by Hyperbaric Oxygen in the Rat Brain: A Possible Neuroprotective Mechanism
• Proliferation of neural stem cells correlates with Wnt-3 protein in hypoxic-ischemic neonate rats after hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Protection of mitochondrial function and improvement in cognitive recovery in rats treated with hyperbaric oxygen following lateral fluid-percussion injury
• The effect of oxygen therapy on brain damage and cerebral pO(2) in transient focal ischemia in the rat
• Treatment of mild traumatic brain injury with hyperbaric oxygen
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Can Improve Post Concussion Syndrome Years after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury – Randomized Prospective Trial

News

• Brain injury sufferer recovers 90%
• Car Accident Victim Waking up with HBOT
• Drew Christy’s Recovery
• HBOT Study on TBI Recovery
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Provides a wide number of benefits for Traumatic Brain Sufferers
• Neurologist Exposes the Benefits of HBOT for TBI and PTSD
• Representatives of the International Hyperbaric Medical Association Testify Before House Veterans Affairs Committee
• Retired NFL player finds hope for his brain in oxygen chamber
• Successfully Treating Brain-Injured Veterens
• US Defense Department Looking at HBOT for treatment of TBI
• US Soldiers with TBI and PTSD to be evaluated with HBOT
• Positive Influence of HBOT on Recovery from Brain Trauma