HBO Oxygen Therapy

What is it?

In hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO), you breathe pure or enriched oxygen under increased pressure in a pressure chamber. This makes much more oxygen dissolve in the blood, which is meant to reach even poorly supplied tissue. The therapy is established, for example, for diving accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning and wounds that heal poorly.

What does the research say?

A review from 2024 summarized 13 studies with almost 1,000 Parkinson's patients. With HBO in addition to medication, motor function, sleep and cognitive performance improved somewhat more than with medication alone. However, all of these studies come from China and had no sham treatment. In animal studies, HBO promoted the formation of new mitochondria.

An Israeli study found that HBO lengthens the telomeres, the protective caps of our genes (Aging). But it was done in healthy older people, not in Parkinson's patients.

My experience

In April and May 2022, I had 23 sessions in Heidelberg. Physically I noticed no change, but my mood got much better. Since July 27, 2023, I have had my own chamber at home. At first I used it about five times a week, now mostly once a week, mainly for my mood and with longevity in mind.

Effort and costs

A course of treatment at a hyperbaric center costs several thousand euros, and in Germany statutory health insurance does not cover it for Parkinson's. My private health insurance paid for the treatment in Heidelberg. A chamber of your own is a big purchase: a home chamber like mine costs about 12,000 euros. Home chambers usually work with much lower pressure than the chambers in clinics.

My conclusion

HBO was good for my mood. An effect on the Parkinson's itself is not reliably proven.