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Comment by lthornberry | Hacker News Reader

HBOT is a widely used 'alternative' treatment for other neurological conditions. It's controversial, in part because there are very good reasons that it can cause neurological damage. This study is NOT a reason for anyone to run out and get HBOT. Even if the effect is real (and I don't think the study has enough info to draw than conclusion), you would need much larger trials to balance benefits and side effects.

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>It's controversial, in part because there are very good reasons that it can cause neurological damage

I'm currently using it to treat long covid brain fog, out of interest, what are these reasons?

If the effect is real then would in not indicate that hypoxia is part of the pathology? There might be other ways besides HBOT to increase oxygen delivery to the brain. The data point is the justification for further research grant proposals.

If HBOT is potentially beneficial, the proper response to a study is to tell people to raise it to their doctor to see if it makes sense for them.

Doctors are stressed, overworked, and only keep up on cutting edge research at yearly conferences and sometimes through the grapevine. Your typical doctor won't know anything about HBOT.

That’s why you should see a good doctor not a typical one. A good doctor would be interested in any research that is well founded despite being non-consensus. That doesn’t mean that they will endorse it. But people like the person I was replying to cuts them out of the process by presuming they already know the right choice for a patient.

Lots of treatments are "potentially beneficial", according to various "authorities", such as grapefruit as a cure for cancer. Going outside the scientific consensus is essentially an argument for alternative medicine.

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