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Multiple Sclerosis National Therapy Centres provide Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy(HBOT) for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.
This Report follows the progress of many patients since they started treatment over 10 years previously.
MS National acknowledges the advice, guidance and support of its Medical Advisors on Hyperbaric Medicine, Dr David Perrins, MD, FRCS and Prof. Philip James, PhD, FFOM and this long-term study on the effect of high dosage oxygenation on the course of MS.
LONG TERM HYPERBARIC OXYGENATION RETARDS PROGRESSION IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the nervous system that results in localised patches of inflammation in the brain and spinal cord which may eventually scar (sclerosis). The affected areas are unable to accept sufficient oxygen from the blood stream unless more is dissolved in the blood.
In 1983 the New England Journal of Medicine reported a controlled, double-blind study on the effect of hyperbaric oxygenation on the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. It scientifically demonstrated benefits (p.> 0.0001) but recognised the need for long-term studies.
After a pilot study had confirmed this report, patients and their relatives installed pressure chambers in 56 Centres throughout the UK. Since 1982 over 12,000 patients have received HBOT. In most, an initial intensive course has been followed by intermittent maintenace treatment. Well over a million individual sessions have been completed without untoward incident.
It is difficult to assess the effect of any treatment on MS patients because of the unpredictable fluctuation of signs and symptoms. One authority considers that the best experimental design is to observe a large number of patients treated over a period of time. MS National therefore followed the progress of 703 patients who had first received treatment soon after the centres opened.
They were recruited from those attending 28 of the Centres. Their details are given in Table 1.
They had been told that they had multiple sclerosis by neurologists who had said that there is no effective treatment for their condition. The co-operation of the patient’s family doctor had been obtained before they were accepted for treatment.
The patients breathed oxygen from a face mask in a chamber compressed with air. The initial course of treatment consisted of twenty sessions in 4 weeks. Thereafter, the patients returned for a ‘follow-on’ treatment on a weekly basis, or failing that, as often as they felt the need or found it possible.
Table 1. Patients recruited to the Survey
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Patients
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Females
464 = 66%
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Males
239 = 34%
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Total 703
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Mean Age
(range)
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47 (20 - 70)
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47 (19 - 73)
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Average
duration
0f MS (range)
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14 years
(0 - 54)
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15 years
(0 - 50)
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Diagnosis
confirmed by a
Neurologist
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870 = 96%
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MS Type
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Relapsing /
Remitting
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126 = 10%
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41 = 6%
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167
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Chronic
Progressive
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262 = 37%
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155 = 22%
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417
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Chronic Static
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76 = 11%
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43 = 6%
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119
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Patient Assessment |
