Hyperbare Sauerstofftherapie (HBOT) bei ME/CFS und PCS

In her presentation, Dr. Claudia Kedor presented results from an observational study on the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for ME/CFS. The principle of this therapy rests on two pillars: elevated ambient pressure and 100% oxygen saturation. Dr. Kedor explained that the increased pressure allows the lungs to absorb more oxygen, thereby facilitating improved diffusion into hypoxic tissues. This state of hyperoxia occurs independently of oxygen binding to hemoglobin. The aim of the study was to determine whether ME/CFS patients benefit from this therapy and whether any differences could be observed between the two selected treatment groups (20 vs. 40 sessions). The primary inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of post-infectious ME/CFS based on the Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC), age between 18 and 65 years, and Bell score between 30 and 60 points. Dr. Kedor reported improvements in both groups—at the three-month mark as well as after 11 months. Fatigue—both mental and functional—improved in both groups. Cognitive function, as measured by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), showed improvement, particularly in the group that underwent 40 sessions. Pain relief was observed exclusively in the group that completed 40 sessions. Handgrip strength and performance on the One-Minute Sit-to-Stand Test also showed results favoring the 40-session group. Dr. Kedor concluded by stating that HBOT is generally well-tolerated; furthermore, the study established the significance of treatment duration and demonstrated improvements in physical function, running parallel to a normalisation of functional connectivity measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the future, biomarker analyses could be used to distinguish between responders and non-responders, thereby enabling HBOT to be applied as a mechanism-based therapy for a specific subgroup of ME/CFS patients.