A treatment mainly for divers — or a revolutionary aid to repairing brain damage? Research in Israel is driving the idea that hyperbaric therapy could benefit the population at large, especially those with neurological conditions.

Studies led by Dr Shai Efrati have shown that sessions within a chamber where oxygen is delivered to the body at high pressure can significantly help recovery from stroke and many other conditions. In addition to relieving the symptoms of decompression illness, gas embolism and carbon monoxide poisoning for which the NHS has licensed it, HBOT, as the therapy is known, may also help sufferers of multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and impotence, it is claimed.

Efrati, who presides over the Sagol hyperbaric unit at Assaf Harofeh Hospital near Tel Aviv, spells out the results of his research with patients in a 2015 talk on YouTube.

“After 20 sessions we saw a huge amount of stem cells going all over the body looking for damage to repair,” he says, explaining why the head has been a primary point of focus. “In our body, the most complex organ is the brain; it occupies only two per cent of our body mass but consumes 20 per cent of our oxygen.

“The reason we don’t use more than five per cent of our brains is that we don’t have enough oxygen to use more.” And repairing the damage to that tiny proportion of brain power relies, he believes, on rejuvenating tissue with oxygenation, which can improve motor as well as cognitive function.

Increased blood flow can, in fact, even benefit healthy brains as they age, says Efrati, reversing the effects of tiny, imperceptible strokes which occur naturally and helping the elderly sharpen up to enjoy a better quality of life.

Flooding the blood with oxygen has also been shown to aid the healing process for burns, wounds and infections, as well as improving organ function. And while the process sounds claustrophobic, it need not be undergone alone. Assaf Harofeh has two large chambers which can accommodate several patients at once, as well as a single chamber and says it is treating more than 120 patients a day.

HBOT is also available in the UK privately and in a number of other countries. Cost in the UK vary from £50 to £300 per session, with a series of up to 40 recommended.

One proponent of the therapy, who felt benefit after just 11 sessions, is Jan Shure, former JC fashion and travel editor, who tried it in an effort to speed her recovery following a brain tumour which required 20 hours of surgery. “I was left with severely impaired vision, hearing and mobility, yet needed to try to speed my recovery, because the fashion website I had recently co-founded, SoSensational, was at a crucial stage and needed me,” she says. And there were distressing social symptoms to contend with: “I had lost my smile. Even when you begin to recover motor function, it remains quite hard to co-ordinate all the muscles needed and smiling became a huge effort.

“Also, I met my husband Colin through a shared love of walking and was used to walking 20-odd miles. I could not imagine managing the simple pleasure of a walk on the beach again.”

Having heard about Efrati’s work, she opted for hyperbaric therapy in Spain, paying 1,500 euros for 11 sessions, which left her impressed at how well she had progressed. However, she did not complete the recommended course of 20, because she saw no subsequent improvement from a further five sessions.

Her final verdict on the therapy? “It’s impossible to say whether I would have recovered as much as I have without hyperbaric, but I definitely know it accelerated my recovery. Health issues which may have taken many more months or even years were dramatically better after the treatment.”

These included the areas in which she most longed for improvement: “Walking is still a big issue, but I did manage that walk on the beach and can now walk up to a mile. And since the hyperbaric, my smile is back.”