Welcome to the world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Helping AIDS, Cancer and MS with Oxygen
Part 2 of 6

Somewhat less well-known new applications of HBOT, discussed below, include treatment of secondary infections associated with AIDS, cleaning up toxic side effects caused by radiation therapy and skin and plastic surgery in cancer patients, and sparking improvement in multiple sclerosis patients.

"Diving" for AIDS Relief Since 1990, Michelle Reillo, B.S.N., R.N., has been treating AIDS patients with HBOT at Life-force Hyperbaric Oxygen Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Reillo and her colleagues concentrate on providing relief and reversing many of the complications associated with HIV infection or AIDS.

While there are about 300 hyperbaric oxygen chambers in the U.S., almost all exist as part of hospitals or other institutions. Life-force is one of the few freestanding, private HBOT clinics where the therapy is the sole feature and where they offer treatment to patients with a broader 'spectrum of diseases, her new book, Aids Under Pressure (Hogrefe & Huber, 1997), the earlier you can apply hyperbaric oxygen to an AIDS patient, the better. "Hyperbaric medicine has well-documented evidence supporting its use in many AIDS-defining DIVING FOR HEALTH-The hyperbaric chamber delivers pure oxygen under pressure for maximum therapeutic absorption. The patient lies comfortably inside for up to an hour, breathing air with 10-15 times more oxygen than outside complications and infections, regardless of the underlying disorder," Reillo says. "HBOT would be an ideal intervention in the individual recently infected with HIV because it decreases viremia [viruses in the blood], is not toxic to the individual, and decreases the microvascular and neurovascular [small blood vessels] damage occurring as the initial infection progresses throughout the body.

"Reillo cites the recent example of Eduardo, 3 1, suffering from debilitating, AIDS-related fatigue and oral yeast infection (candidiasis). After two months of HBOT treatment (typically 2-3 times weekly), his viral load had dropped from 30,000 to 15,000 copies/ml of blood; after another two months, that number had dropped to zero. Eduardo's fatigue had resolved, his yeast infection had cleared up, he had gained ten pounds, and was capable of normal physical activity again, reports Reillo.

HBOT has demonstrated its effectiveness in relieving peripheral vascular insufficiency. This means a reduced supply of blood to the feet and hands, leaving them cold and frequently painful. Reillo reports that over a three-year period at Life-force, 100 AIDS patients with this problem have received considerable benefit after receiving only two weeks of HBOT (three treatments per week).

First among the symptoms to improve was fatigue, then an increase in the ability to exercise and tolerate activity, followed by a warming of the extremities, an increase in energy, and less pain in the legs and feet following activity. The level of oxygen in the tissues climbed from a low 79% to a healthy, even vigorous 98%, adds Reillo.

These high levels are not permanent and require continuing HBOT to maintain, Reillo notes. AIDS patients can often have dangerously low blood oxygenation levels in the area of 50%-600/o. While 98% oxygenation has been achieved, AIDS patients more typically see their oxygen levels climb to the 80%-90% range following HBOT, says Reillo.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment performs well as an adjunct to conventional antibiotic regimens for AIDS patients, Reillo explains. This is especially so in the area of opportunistic infections such as Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), a deadly form of tuberculosis that attacks the bone marrow. This complication affects up to 20% of AIDS patients.

Reillo cites the case of June, age 29, who had been diagnosed with AIDS and MAC as a complication. June's conventional doctors gave her three months to live. At Life-force, she took an anti-tubercular drug called Ethambutol and 'dove' six days a week.

June didn't die, says Reillo. Instead, she gained 30 pounds-she started HBOT treatment weighing just 90 pounds-and her fever dropped. A year after her predicted demise, June was asymptomatic and in complete remission, says Reillo. 'Anti-tubercuIar medications have been shown to be more effective when used in conjunction with I HBOT' Marcel, 50, is one of Life-force's long-term survivors. When he started diving at 49, he had a life-threateningly low level of immune cells; his T lymphocyte (T cell) level was only 100 while the healthy norm is 800-1,200. Over the previous two years, he had lost a lot of weight and suffered from extreme fatigue, which prevented him from going to work.

Marcel underwent HBOT three times a week in a multiplace chamber, each session lasting about 45 minutes. In a multiplace chamber, up to six people sit inside a sealed chamber, each wearing a special transparent hood into which the pressurized oxygen is pumped. Concurrently with his oxygen therapy, Marcel took a conventional drug for a lung infection (Pneumocystis caiinii, a form of AIDS-related pneumonia). "Marcel was very compliant with all the requirements of treatment,' notes Reillo. Within two weeks, his fatigue began to recede and his appetite returned. Although he had been unable to work for two years, after only four weeks of diving, he returned to work full time. "His fatigue was completely resolved," says Reillo. Seven years later, Marcel had not developed any other opportunistic infections; he had gained weight, and was leading an active professional life.

Compliance, says Reillo, means a commitment to regular HBOT, dietary changes, and the use of certain broad-spectrum nutritional supplements such as Advera (containing cod liver oil) and Ondrox (containing antioxidants). Life-force also gives their AIDS patients once-weekly injections of B12 (1,000mg), as this vitamin-essential to neurologic function-cannot be readily absorbed by people with AIDS.

Feature article from Alternative Medicine Magazine, Issue 23, May 1998

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