The Role of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Enhancing the Rate of Wound Healing with a Focus on Axon Regeneration

Wounds have always afflicted humanity causing pain, suffering and death, and for thousands of years humans have tested and developed various techniques for their ability to induce wound healing. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) refers to placing a patient or their extremity in a chamber in which the pressure is raised several fold above ambient air pressure and the ambient air is substituted with 100% oxygen. HBOT is effective in enhancing the rate and effectiveness of healing of a variety of wounds and injuries. The mechanisms by which HBOT acts are well understood. An important question about HBOT is whether it can heal another is type of wound, nerves after trauma? This review primarily discusses mechanisms by which HBOTinduces the complex process of wound healing. It then examines how some of these mechanisms are also involved in promoting axon regeneration. Finally it presents anecdotal evidence suggesting that HBOT promotes axon regeneration, but notes that more extensive and thorough studies are required to determine whether HBOTinduces axon regeneration. [P R Health Sci J 2011;1:35-42]