Professorship would Focus on Finding New Autism Treatments

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Sam Doesburg, an expert at magnetoencephalographic brain imaging and a neuroscientist, is to join the Simon Fraser University (SFU) as a new Callum Frost Professor of Translational Research in autism.

Doesburg would investigate new treatments that have the potential to improve the lives of individuals with autism. His investigation would include treatments involving the hyperbaric oxygen chamber of SFU. That’s the sole chamber of its type in Canada, aimed for use by civilians.

Doesburg arrives at SFU from University of Toronto. There, he conducted research in the “Hospital for Sick Children” about the relation between functional connectivity within brain regions and childhood cognitive development.

Doesburg’s Role at SFU:

Doesburg hopes that his work at SFU fills a major gap. This is because after getting autism diagnosis, often kids and their families don’t have a clear roadmap about effective treatment. They also find too few options to eliminate the issues of living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Doesburg would try to find out treatments that have the potential to induce changes in behavior and brain of individuals with autism. He would also determine whether or not neuroimaging can disclose various autism ‘sub-types’, which may have susceptibility for specific treatment interventions like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT).

HBOT boosts oxygen intake, enhances the concentration of oxygen in the brain, decreases inflammation, and is considered as an effective treatment to improve lives of autistic people.

Peter Ruben, the associate dean of research in Faculty of Science, stated that Canada’s only civilian hypo/hyperbaric chamber is operated by SFU, so they are quite pleased to have the expertize of Sam in their work. He added that Sam’s research has the potential to pave the path for work in the future on other injuries and disorders of the brain.

The President of “Central City Brewing and Distillery” at Surrey, Darryll Frost and Lee Frost, his wife, are funding this professorship. Their son, Callum, is affected by Pervasive Development Disorder, a form of autism. They state that HBOT has resulted in an improvement in Callum’s behavior. That’s the reason they wish to support more research in this field.

Doesburg would be based at Surrey campus of SFU, and would also conduct research at the hypo/hyperbaric chamber of SFU in the Burnaby campus.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a treatment which involves the inhaling of 100% oxygen within a closed chamber, called a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, inside which the atmospheric pressure is controlled and increased. HBOT boosts the natural healing process of the body.

Under normal conditions, the red blood cells solely transport oxygen in the entire human body. However, when HBOT is administered, oxygen is dissolved in all fluids of the body, the bone, the lymph, fluids of central nervous system, and the plasma. With HBOT, oxygen can also be transported to the regions in the body where the circulation is blocked or decreased. With extra oxygen reaching all damaged tissues, there’s an improvement in the healing process of the body. The additional oxygen boosts the white blood cells’ capacity of killing bacteria, diminishes swelling, and permits the growth of new blood vessels rapidly in the affected regions. HBOT is a painless, non-invasive and simple treatment.

HBOT has been approved by the FDA as the medical treatment for several conditions like Decompression Sickness (Bends), Gas or Air Embolism, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Diabetic Wounds and many more. For certain medical conditions, the FDA has not approved the use of HBOT as a treatment. However, HBOT is used to treat those medical conditions too as patients have experienced improvement in their condition after undergoing the therapy. Some of those conditions are Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Lyme Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and more.

Chloe Paltrow
Chloe Paltrow, a medical assistant. She has shared her knowledge in various websites and blogs like PsychCentral, Collective Evolution and Pick The Brain. Currently, she is studying how brain injury and brain disorders can be treated with hyperbaric chambers.