Veterans' PTSD symptoms could improve with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, study shows

A new approach to treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is showing promise in clinical trials.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is the process of breathing in pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber to treat various physical health conditions.

Researchers in Israel have discovered it can also help treat mental health conditions, specifically combat-associated PTSD (CA-PTSD) in military veterans.

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The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, analyzed 63 veterans from 2020 to 2023 who underwent randomized treatment.

The group of veterans who went through HBOT showed a “significant decrease” in PTSD symptoms, with 68% of respondents reporting improvement.

The researchers concluded that “dedicated HBOT protocol can improve PTSD symptoms of veterans with CA-PTSD.”

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Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joined “Fox & Friends” on Monday to discuss these findings, 

Although some experts believe it’s “still early” to bank on this treatment, the doctor noted that the brain shows signs of oxygen deprivation in patients with PTSD, which suggests that replenishing it with HBOT could be promising.

Researchers saw 68% PTSD improvement in PTSD veterans who underwent HBOT in the study. (iStock)

PTSD is a “huge problem,” Siegel said, resulting in symptoms that include flashbacks, poor sleep, anxiety and other disruptions.

“Our veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns – almost 20% of them are showing these symptoms,” he said. The symptoms can take a while to manifest, he noted.

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To supplement standards of care like therapy and antidepressants, Siegel agreed that HBOT is “showing promise” as a potential universal treatment.

To supplement standards of care like therapy and antidepressants, Siegel agreed that HBOT is “showing promise” as a potential universal treatment. (iStock)

“Israel is jumping on this because they have even more post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said. “It’s a family disease.”

Dr. Keren Doenyas-Barak, head of the PTSD program at Israel’s Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, reiterated in a statement sent to Fox News Digital how PTSD is primarily approached as a “psychological condition requiring psychotherapy.”

“However, recent imaging techniques, such as fMRI and SPECT, reveal that PTSD is associated with long-term changes in both brain activity and structure,” wrote the researcher, who led the study.

Nearly 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are showing signs of PTSD, according to Dr. Siegel. (iStock)

“HBOT may target and recruit these malfunctioning brain regions, and thus address core symptoms of PTSD — such as nightmares and flashbacks — and improve brain function.”

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The current study demonstrated a “significant therapeutic effect” in veterans who had “not responded to psychotherapy or medications,” Doenyas-Barak noted.

“The clinical improvement was accompanied by changes in brain network activity,” she told Fox News Digital.

“This treatment, now available to Israeli veterans with support from the Ministry of Defense, offers new hope to those struggling with debilitating symptoms.”

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Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.