Introduction to NR2CON and Bringing Neural Repair to India

Arun Mukherjee, Tarun Sahni , Shakir Jamil & The UDAAN Team

UDAAN Project for CP, New Delhi , INDIA

Abstract:

UDAAN HBOT-BASED MULTIMODE THERAPY FOR CP

The UDAAN HBOT-Based Multi-mode Long-Term Observational Study for CP is an ongoing observational study.

We gave Standard Therapy on a one-to-one basis to twenty young CP children, and followed them up for six months.

Since June 2001, another matching group of CP children was given one session a day of HBOT at a pressure of 1.75 ATA, with 100% Oxygen for 60 minutes for 40 session at the beginning of therapy, followed in the fifth month by 60 sessions of CP-Specific Acupuncture and 90 days of a standardized purified preparation of a Unani herbal brain-restorative health supplement.

By July 2004, current worldwide opinion suggested that 1.5 ATA pressure could deliver better results, and we changed our protocol accordingly.

About the same time, evidence, especially from increasing acceptance of Pierre’s HBOT in CP study published in The Lancet of 2001 suggested that the brain could improve equally well with only 1.3 ATA pressure given using ambient air only. Accordingly, by late 2005, we started a fresh arm using the low pressure ambient air Hyperbaric Air study.

All the arms are part of our ongoing long term study, to see what effect these various pressure and oxygen level models have on young Indian Children with CP.

Observation

Interim analysis of results shows that only Standard Therapy achieves good improvement in small CP children after 6 months.

All three HBOT groups achieved an improvement rate on GMFM scores that were highly statistically significant better than that achieved by Standard Therapy only.

The 1.5 ATA HBOT and 1.3 ATA Hyperbaric Air groups were slightly better than the 1.75 ATA group with little difference between the former two.

Results with Special Education and Speech Therapy evaluations followed a similar trend.

Detailed analytical data will be presented.

Conclusion

HBOT based regimens offer a faster and significantly better improvement in the quality of life of CP children if started young, with many of the children showing rapid progression in mobility, communication and cognitive improvements.

The improvement in Cognitive levels was something that could only have been the result of the UDAAN Multimode Approach, as that is one parameter that is Therapy independent to a large extent.