The use of high-pressure oxygen therapy does little to improve the condition of children afflicted with cerebral palsy, a new study has found. Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term that describes a variety of chronic disorders impairing control of movement that appear in the first few years of life and generally do not worsen over time.
Symptoms can vary widely.
Such treatments have become increasingly popular with parents of children with cerebral palsy because of scattered reports that they might be of some value. The growing popularity of the treatments may be due to the fact that some forms of cerebral palsy are caused by a severe oxygen shortage in the brain or trauma to the head during labor and delivery. One group received the high-pressure oxygen treatments while the other group was given slightly pressurized room air. There were a total of 40 treatments over two months.