(RepublicanInformer.com)- An incredible new study from Tel Aviv University in Israel has reportedly found that oxygen therapy can be used to significantly reduce the symptoms experienced by people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Also known as PTSD, this condition affects people who are exposed to various kinds of trauma, whether short-term or prolonged. It results in major anxiety, depression, and fear among people who suffer it.
The study, however, found that half of those who undergo oxygen therapy are no longer considered to have PTSD.
According to a report by The Times of Israel, the study was performed using hyperbaric oxygen chambers. 18 Israeli Defence Force veterans suffering from PTSD took part in the trial.
“Hyperbaric oxygen is not currently used for any significant PTSD treatments, and the scientists who conducted the study say it could open a new avenue to help people battling the disorder,” the report explains.
Dr. Keren Doenyas-Barak, one of the team members who worked on the study, said that the research was started to see what effect PTSD has on the brain. Given that their approach didn’t involve psychological tools, they were able to use the results to not only provide a potential new treatment for PTSD sufferers, but to see how the brain is physically affected.
“According to the diagnostic scale, by the end of the therapy course, half of those treated were no longer considered to have PTSD,” the university’s report revealed.
It added that the therapy is believed to work by increasing plasticity within the brain, which allows wounds in the brain to heal more quickly.
It’s not just a breakthrough for helping people who go through trauma, but it could also potentially have huge implications for understanding how the brain works, too.
Learn more about the study here.
