A promising new treatment for PTSD

Idit Negrin would effort thing to bushed the trauma haunting her since attending the Nova Music Festival connected October 7th, when Hamas massacred hundreds of civilians. "We saw the terrorists, and they started shooting astatine us," she said. She ran for her life. 

Afterwards, "I woke up each night, each nighttime astir 3 o'clock screaming and sweating and shaking. I deliberation aft a day, oregon 2 days after, I felt that I'm falling down, crying."

We met her this summertime arsenic she was two-thirds of the mode done her 60-session people of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). It's a attraction agelong utilized to combat compression sickness successful divers, and wounds that volition not heal. But astatine the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, successful Be'er Ya'akov, Israel, they're present besides treating a precise antithetic malady: post-traumatic accent disorder, oregon PTSD.

Negrin described her experiences with PTSD: "You consciousness similar you're going crazy. I telephone radical and scream, 'There is simply a panic onslaught again!' And past you recognize that you person nary power of your brain."

Negrin is trying to regain that control, on with astir 650 different October 7th survivors suffering from PTSD who are being treated, for free, alongside subject veterans astatine the Sagol Center – presently the largest hyperbaric halfway worldwide.

At a infirmary successful Israel, they're utilizing hyperbaric oxygen therapy - agelong utilized to combat compression sickness successful divers - to dainty post-traumatic accent disorder, oregon PTSD. CBS News

Dr. Shai Efrati runs this clinic, wherever they're treating up to 350 patients a day, and are connected the forefront of this benignant of medicine. "What we are doing is really tricking the body," Efrati said. "Hypoxia, deficiency of oxygen, is the astir almighty trigger to induce each the repair mechanics cascade."

Efrati says they're inducing repair mechanisms successful the assemblage and encephalon wrong these pressurized chambers, wherever it feels similar you're scuba diving down to 30 feet. Patients respire successful axenic oxygen, which nether specified high-pressure conditions the assemblage tin sorb astatine up to 16 times the mean level. Then, masks are removed for five-minute intervals.

Efrati said, "The diminution from precise precocious backmost to the mean is being interpreted astatine the akin level arsenic hypoxia, arsenic deficiency of oxygen. That causes the assemblage to trigger the stem cells, and for the archetypal clip adjacent successful humans, we tin spot procreation of caller neurons, procreation of caller humor vessels successful the brain. And this is mind-blowing."

The attraction has been described arsenic "unapproved" and "not proven." "When we talk astir hyperbaric oxygen therapy, this is however it should look like," Efrati said.

"You're saying determination are a batch of frauds retired there?" asked Doane.

"Indeed. And this is not lone not good, it tin beryllium adjacent dangerous."

Dr. Shai Efrati observes patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).  CBS News

Dr. Efrati is perpetually experimenting with caller ways to usage this treatment. At his session adjacent Tel Aviv, we got to spot however they're catering hyperbaric medicine to athletes ("If we tin shorten the betterment period, you tin propulsion harder doing the exercises"), and helping patients with encephalon injuries regain question done the maturation of caller neurons and humor vessels successful the brain.

"It's not that we are fixing his running," Efrati said astir 1 athlete's performance. "We are fixing the brain."

They've published respective studies, looking astatine PTSD successful veterans. One, retired today, recovered that 68% of patients showed important improvement. Another reported that PTSD remission lasted astatine slightest 2 years, which is higher than different established treatments. "We privation to measure everything objectively," said Efrati.

It's conclusive capable for the Israel Defense Forces, oregon IDF, to inquire Efrati's squad to halt investigating and commencement treating. The doc says that portion you tin ever inquire for much data, "You spot the grounds successful beforehand of you."

Shachar Mizrhai was 1 of those IDF veterans referred successful 2018 for the archetypal objective trial. He was a worker during a 2014 Israeli violative successful Gaza and was successful an armored conveyance erstwhile it was ambushed. In the abbreviated term, helium was reasoning astir survival; the suffering came later. "I can't slumber astatine night," helium said. "In the infinitesimal I enactment [on] the uniform, I consciousness similar I privation to die. I odor blood. I odor war."

He'd tried drugs, therapy and sleeping pills. He contemplated suicide. "Nothing truly helped to get backmost to life," helium said. "And I heard that this mightiness beryllium help, and possibly this is my past accidental earlier I decorativeness my life."

Dr. Keren Doenyas-Barak, who heads the PTSD programme astatine the Sagol Center, followed Mizrhai done his 60 sessions, and showed america his encephalon scans from June 2018, and March 2019, highlighting activation of areas utilized to efficaciously modulate emotion, oregon process information. The aboriginal encephalon scan images were lighting up; that wasn't happening earlier the treatment.

CBS News

"Many radical thin to look astatine PTSD arsenic a intelligence phenomenon, not arsenic a biologic phenomenon," Doenyas-Barak said. "So, we dainty PTSD precise akin to different encephalon conditions."

For Mizrhai, the attraction changed everything:" "It's the archetypal clip that I was feeling again. I statesman to slumber astatine night, I was little afraid. It's marque maine consciousness live again. … I was a dying man, and aft this, I'm a surviving man."

North Carolina Republican Congressman and aesculapian doc Greg Murphy said, "If it's being offered successful Israel and they're getting specified bully results, wherefore the hellhole are we not offering it successful the United States?"

That's a question Murphy – a subordinate of the House Committee connected Veterans Affairs – is raising successful the halls of Congress. One successful 10 of his constituents is simply a veteran. "I emotion our VA," helium said. "But we're not reaching a definite conception of our veterans if we're having 22 perpetrate termination each day. And if we're doing thing and determination is simply a attraction that has shown definitive results, I judge it's aesculapian malpractice not to connection that to our veterans."

In 2023 helium introduced the Veterans' National Traumatic Injury Treatment Act. "We conscionable fundamentally privation the VA to bash a aviator survey wrong their ain confines to spot whether they amusement that hyperbaric oxygen works oregon not," helium said.

And what is helium proceeding from the VA? "They conscionable don't privation to bash anything; it's conscionable hands up," helium said. "The reasons that we've heard is, 'Well, the results are mixed.' Fine. Look astatine the results successful the past 15 years. Look astatine the studies successful Israel. We are seeing an implicit effect successful this, and different disorders, for Parkinson's, migraines, immoderate adjacent MS, neurological disorders."

"Sunday Morning" requested an interrogation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, but they declined to comment.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, we met Dr. Lin Weaver, who runs Hyperbaric Medicine astatine Intermountain Health. They dainty astir 20 patients a day, which puts into position the immense numbers - 350 regular – being treated successful Israel.  He says they usage their hyperbaric chambers for PTSD patients rarely, due to the fact that it is expensive, but helium has seen affirmative results: "I've had patients that I've treated. Every 1 has got amazingly better," Weaver said.

But security companies accidental determination is not capable impervious it works for PTSD. And successful the U.S., out-of-pocket costs soar supra $50,000.

"What's indispensable is similar a cause trial," Weaver said. "But these trials instrumentality years to accomplish. It each rests with, 'Is determination an initiative? And is determination a backing source?'"

Doane asked, "But if doctors similar you consciousness truthful powerfully that this works, wherefore isn't determination capable propulsion coming from folks similar you to say, 'Prove this'?"

"Well, judge me, we've tried," Weaver replied. "I person submitted proposals to extramural backing agencies. So far, they haven't accepted them."

Doane asked Dr. Efrati, "You are retired connected the frontier present of medicine. Is determination a information successful that?"

"As a scientist, I volition ever archer you I request much study, I request much data," helium replied. "But arsenic a physician, erstwhile I'm sitting successful beforehand of you looking astatine your eyes, you person a occupation now. This is our occupation arsenic a physician."

Idit Negrin says this attraction is giving her anticipation she tin determination past that nightmare astatine the Nova Music Festival. She hopes, with the therapy, she tin determination connected with her life.

But she wears a reminder – a Nova necklace – portion she gets treatment. "I don't get her disconnected my neck," she said.

Her advancement is information for Dr. Efrati to support innovating, reasoning astir the aboriginal truthful his patients tin process the past.

Doane said, "Some radical are gonna perceive to this and accidental it sounds excessively bully to beryllium true."

"Yeah, I know," said Negrin. "But it's fact."

CBS News

       
For much info:

• Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, Be'er Ya'akov, Israel
• North Carolina Republican Congressman Greg Murphy (R-N.C.)
• Hyperbaric Medicine, Intermountain Health, Salt Lake City, Utah    
  

      
Story produced by Sari Aviv. Editor: Ed Givnish. 

     
See also: 

• Preserving the stories of the Israel-Gaza struggle done art ("Sunday Morning")
• One twelvemonth aft October 7 attacks, choler and anguish persist ("Sunday Morning")

In:
• PTSD