This article is part of the HBOT Radar series, where we summarize the latest published hyperbaric oxygen therapy research.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It summarizes published medical research conducted in clinical settings and does not evaluate Brain Spa Hyperbaric products. The hyperbaric chambers offered on this website are non-medical wellness devices and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Do not make medical decisions based on this article — consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Title:
Effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on peripheral blood inflammatory markers in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder patients (Pan et al., 2025) (PubMed)
What this study examined
This recent retrospective cohort study evaluated whether Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can modulate immune-inflammation markers in patients with NMOSD — a serious autoimmune neurological condition that often causes optic neuritis and spinal cord damage.
Researchers analysed blood samples from 36 NMOSD patients treated between 2022 and 2024.
- Half of the patients (18) received standard treatment + HBOT
- The other half (18) received standard treatment only
Markers measured before and after treatment included neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte counts — common indicators of systemic inflammation and immune balance.
These patients were treated in a clinical hospital setting under medical supervision. Results from clinical research cannot be directly applied to other settings or devices — always consult a healthcare professional.
How much weight this deserves. This was a retrospective cohort study, not a randomised trial. The 36 patients were not assigned to groups by chance — clinicians decided who received hyperbaric oxygen, and in a retrospective design that means the two groups may have differed before treatment started in ways the analysis cannot fully account for. With 18 patients per arm, it is also small. The findings are worth having; they are not proof.
Key Findings
Immune balance shifted toward less inflammation
- Patients in the HBOT group showed a ~32 % increase in lymphocyte count (i.e. more immune-regulating cells) compared to baseline.
- NLR dropped by ~19 % and PLR dropped by ~18 % — both suggest decreased systemic inflammation.
Stronger effect in those with high inflammatory burden
- Subgroup analysis showed the most pronounced improvements in patients whose baseline NLR was ≥ 3 — meaning those who started with higher inflammation got the biggest benefit.
No serious adverse events reported
- Over the course of the HBOT sessions, no serious side-effects were found, indicating that the protocol was well tolerated in this cohort.
In short: inflammatory markers fell and lymphocyte counts rose in the HBOT group. That pattern is consistent with an immunomodulatory effect, though blood markers alone cannot establish one.
Why this study matters
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a severe autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the central nervous system, often leading to relapses that damage the optic nerves and spinal cord. Current treatments rely heavily on immunosuppressants and biologics.
This study is important because:
- It provides human clinical data rather than laboratory or animal work, which is comparatively rare in this area.
- NLR and PLR are inflammation proxies. Whether moving a proxy changes what patients actually experience — relapses, disability, vision — is a separate question, and this study did not measure any of those.
- Whether that makes hyperbaric oxygen useful alongside standard treatment is the obvious next question, and it needs a trial designed to answer it.
- It supports the broader concept that HBOT effects (immunomodulation, reduced inflammation, oxidative stress balancing) are relevant beyond just wound healing or oxygenation — also for autoimmune/neuroimmune conditions. This accords with reviews that highlight HBOT as a neuromodulatory technique.
Takeaway for our community
This is one of the first clinical datasets suggesting that HBOT could play a supportive immunomodulatory role in serious neuro-autoimmune conditions like NMOSD. While it’s not a cure and doesn’t replace immunosuppressive therapy, in this cohort, inflammatory markers moved in a favourable direction. Whether that stabilises disease activity was not tested here.
What this adds is human data, in a field where much of the mechanistic work has been done in animals. It is a small, unrandomised dataset, so it is a starting point rather than a foundation.
As always — more research is needed! But this is a significant step: HBOT + standard care might become a useful adjunct strategy for managing inflammation in NMOSD.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41312352
Educational disclaimer
This content summarizes findings from published medical research for educational purposes only.
The hyperbaric chambers sold on this website are non-medical wellness devices and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The studies discussed here were conducted in clinical medical settings using medical-grade interventions. The inclusion of research summaries does not imply that similar outcomes can be achieved using non-medical wellness devices.
