Breathing oxygen under pressure, equivalent to being 45 feet under the sea, is being tested as a new treatment for endometriosis.
This painful condition, in which tissue similar to that lining the uterus is found elsewhere in the body, is estimated to affect around 1.5 million women in the UK.
In a new clinical trial, patients will sit in a diving chamber for 90 minutes straight, five days a week for eight weeks, breathing pure oxygen.
The theory is that the treatment will reduce the inflammation that plays an important role in the development of the disease.
Inside the chamber, like the one above, patients will breathe 100 percent oxygen (ambient air contains 21 percent oxygen).
The women will sit in the hyperbaric chamber for 90 minutes straight, five days a week for eight weeks, breathing pure oxygen.
In endometriosis, cells similar to those in the lining of the uterus grow in other places, usually in or around the reproductive organs in the pelvis or abdomen, including the fallopian tubes and ovaries. In some women, they can also grow in and around the bladder, cervix, intestine, and other places.
As with the lining of the uterus, these patches of endometrial tissue break down and bleed over a period of time, but they cannot leave the body.
The resulting buildup of abnormal tissue can lead to inflammation, cysts, and scar tissue. Bands of fibrous tissue called adhesions can also form, causing pelvic tissues and organs to stick together.
Symptoms include severe pain and extreme tiredness: Endometriosis is also one of the most common conditions related to female infertility.
There is currently no cure: treatments range from painkillers to hormone therapy; Taking the birth control pill, for example, stops the growth of endometrial tissue and prevents ovulation (reducing pain related to endometriosis).
There is no cure for endometriosis. Current treatments include pain relievers and even old-fashioned aids like hot water bottles.
Some women are offered surgery to remove endometrial tissue; It is estimated that this recurs in between 20 and 30 percent of cases. In a new trial at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and Hospital in Toronto, Canada, 64 women aged 18 and older will receive standard treatments, including pain relievers, and half will also receive hyperbaric therapy. Inside the chamber, patients will breathe 100 percent oxygen (ambient air contains 21 percent oxygen).
Higher atmospheric pressure increases the amount of oxygen reaching the blood and tissues, and hyperbaric chambers, which were originally developed to treat decompression sickness in divers, are now used to treat an increasing number. of conditions, including burns. , carbon monoxide poisoning and injuries.
The scientists in the new trial point to research in mice that has suggested that inflammation and low oxygen levels are linked to the development of endometriosis and its symptoms.
And a 2022 study published in the International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine found that mice with endometriosis could be successfully treated with hyperbaric therapy.
Dr Ahmed Ismail, consultant gynecologist and obstetrician at Queens Clinic, Harley Street, London, says the new treatment shows: ‘some potential to reduce inflammation and possibly relieve symptoms in small studies.’
However, he adds: ‘The risks and complications associated with prolonged exposure to oxygen, together with limited scientific evidence, suggest that this treatment should not be initiated hastily.
“More research is needed before recommending HBOT as a standard treatment for women with endometriosis.”