The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should not overlook new applications of existing therapies and treatments to improve patients’ lives in pursuing the goal of making Americans healthier, a panel discussion hosted by The Heritage Foundation concluded.
The panel focused on photobiomodulation (PBM) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) as two proven treatments that stimulate cell growth in patients suffering from a vast array of conditions. Managing pain, promoting wound healing, and treating brain injuries are just a few of the applications the panelists discussed in the May 1 meeting.
Cutting-Edge Therapies
PBM “is a non-invasive photogenic-based therapy, capable of dealing with immune-inflammatory, neurological, and musculoskeletal disorders, as well as healing oral and chronic skin wounds,” according to Science Direct. “During PBM, light is applied at a specific wavelength, either in the visible or near-infrared (NIR) range.”
HBOT, Johns Hopkins Medicine explains, “is a type of treatment used to speed up healing of carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, and wounds that won’t heal. It is also used for infections in which tissues are starved for oxygen. For this therapy, you enter a special chamber to breathe in pure oxygen at air pressure levels 1.5 to 3 times higher than average.”
Panelists addressing the potential of these therapies were Paolo Cassano, M.D, Ph.D., director of the Brain Photomodulation Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital; Mohammed Elamir, M.D., lead physician at Aviv Clinics in Central Florida; and Ann Liebert, Ph.D., coordinator of photomolecular research in the Sydney (Australia) Adventist Hospital.
Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., chaired the panel.
‘Alternative to Opioids’
Leading off the session, Moffit described PBM as “an alternative to opioids” that has “served over 100 million patients around the world and has been researched in thousands of studies.”
Liebert said the use of light for healing began in 1903, with modern applications dating to 1967.
“Light has a great effect on our lives, from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night,” said Liebert. PBM therapy reduces inflammation and “is nonpharmaceutical,” Liebert said.
Though some patients with high sensitivity to light may have minor negative reactions to the therapy, “there are no adverse effects” from PBM, Leibert said.
Cassano said PBM boosts brainwave activity and provided an example of the role the therapy plays in healing traumatic brain injuries: a man who suffered from severe headaches for years after his car was struck by a crane while he was driving in New York City. After he received PBM therapy at Massachusetts General for six weeks, the headaches went away, and the man, now 80, is living a normal life, Cassano said.
Oxygen for Cells
Discussing HBOT, Elamir, who treats many older patients in Florida, as people age, getting oxygen to all parts of the body becomes more difficult.
Properly administered, HBOT “enables oxygen to get to the cells that need it and helps the body to create new cells,” Elamir told the audience.
All therapies have side effects, and in HBOT, the key is the right level of oxygen, said Elamir.
“We ask our patients undergoing treatment if they can pop their ears,” said Elamir. “If they say ‘yes,’ we know they are fine.” As with PBM, Elamir favors HBOT as an option to improve surgery outcomes.
Slow Acceptance
When Moffit asked the panelists whether medical professionals are ready to accept expanded use of the two therapies, all three said no. Cassano said most physicians have not been trained in PBM, and Elamir said doctors generally “wait until conventional treatments have failed” before turning to HBOT.
Discussing the costs of the therapies, Cassano said a PBM device costs $1,000 to $3,000, and the purchase is not covered by insurance.
Extended treatment can cost $70,000, but could potentially be covered by Medicare as an alternative to opioids. PBM is also available at VA hospitals, where it is used to treat patients suffering from military-related brain injuries.
Elamir said HBOT costs $300 per session, and some patients need many sessions.
All panelists said the two therapies could play a role in treating autism, a growing problem in the United States.
Limited Progress
“There is more evidence behind HBOT than there is supporting PBM,” Dallas-based cardiologist Peter McCullough, M.D., told Health Care News. “Both are attractive because they are not prescribed medications or nutraceuticals.” Nutraceuticals describe naturally-based substances such as vitamins and food supplements.
Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, says she is happy that alternative treatments are getting more attention.
“I am delighted to see promotion of PBM and HBOT, although the latter, at least, has been known for over a hundred years but has been brutally suppressed,” said Orient. “There are 14 indications that are covered by insurance, but many amputations still occur because treatment is long delayed. Meanwhile, treatment is denied or not even considered for healing brain and spinal cord injuries.”
Access Problems
Access to cutting-edge treatments is too limited, says Orient.
“Star athletes may get prompt treatment for a concussion, but soldiers with traumatic brain injuries from blast exposure get backpacks full of dangerous and ineffective drugs from the VA, and many commit suicide,” said Orient.
“Thousands of veterans have been healed at private treatment centers while the VA claims there’s no proof that it works,” said Orient. “Some places charge $150 per session, while hospitals may demand $1,000 or more. Stroke patients, drowning victims, and children with cerebral palsy or autism have experienced miraculous-appearing recovery.”
Bonner Russell Cohen, Ph.D., ([email protected]) is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research.
Bonner R. Cohen is a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, a position he has held since 2002.
