Posted by hedferst (172.157.129.205) on October 08, 2001 at 15:06:52:
ationale for Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen in Vascular Headache
Textbook of Hyperbaric Medicine by K. K. Jain
Exposure to HBO has been shown effective for both cluster and migraine headaches. One of the contributing mechanisms is assumed to be cerebral vasoconstriction in response to high oxygen tensions, invoked as a protective response against the effects of both hyperoxia and corresponding decreases in end-tidal carbon dioxide.
Hyperbaric oxygen provides much higher levels of blood oxygenation than normobaric oxygen, and presumably greater ability to constrict painfully dilated cerebral arteries. HBO has been used to combat cerebral edema; its effects decrease cerebral blood flow and increase cerebral oxygenation (Sukoff and Ragatz 1982).
The effect of HBO is not limited to vasomotor change. Serotonergic pathways seem to be involved but the mechanisms have not been elucidated as yet. …HBO could act as a serotonergic agonist.