A new approach to treatment post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) shows promise in clinical trials.

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

Israeli researchers have found that it can also help treat mental health issues, particularly combat-associated PTSD (CA-PTSD). 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.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy could treat core PTSD symptoms such as nightmares and flashbacks, a researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)

The group of veterans who took HBOT showed a “significant decrease” PTSD Symptomswith 68% of respondents reporting improvement.

The researchers concluded that “a dedicated HBOT protocol may improve PTSD symptoms in veterans with CA-PTSD.”

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Fox News Senior Medical Analyst Dr. Marc Siegel has joined “Fox and Friends” Monday to discuss these results,

Although some experts believe that it is “still early” to rely on this treatment, the doctor noted that the brain shows signs of lack of oxygen in PTSD patients, which suggests that replenishing it with the HBO could be promising.

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

PTSD is a “huge problem,” Siegel said, leading to symptoms such as flashbacks, poor sleep, anxiety and other disruptions.

“Our veterans from the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan – almost 20 percent of them have these symptoms,” he said. Symptoms can take a while to appear, he noted.

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To complete standards of care Like therapy and antidepressants, Siegel acknowledged that HBOT “shows promise” as a potential universal treatment.

To complement standards of care such as therapy and antidepressants, Siegel acknowledged that HBOT “shows promise” as a potential universal treatment. (iStock)

“Israel is jumping on this idea because it is suffering even more from post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said. “It’s a family illness.”

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

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“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 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans show signs of PTSD, according to Dr. Siegel. (iStock)

“HBOT can target and recruit these malfunctioning brain regions, and thus treat core symptoms of PTSD – such as nightmares and flashbacks – and improve brain function.”

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

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

“This treatment, now available for Israeli veterans with the support of the Department of Defense, offers new hope to those suffering from debilitating symptoms. »