Mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy shows impressive improvements for fetal alcohol syndrome !

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most common nonhereditary cause of mental retardation, with deficits in general intellectual functioning, learning, memory, attention, and problem-solving. Presented here is the first case in which measured neurocognitive abilities were determined before, during, and after hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a case of FAS involving a teenage male patient. Memory, reaction time, and visual motor speed assessments were compared. After 40 hyperbaric treatments with 100% oxygen at 1.5 atmospheres absolute, the patient’s performance in 6 of 6 categories of the computer-administered test battery improved.

This patient, with 15-year-matured FAS, benefited from a short course of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy, sustained durable cognitive improvements, and continued to exhibit improvement with another short course of treatments.