Scientists succeed in reversing brain damage in toddler

Doctors claimed to have reversed severe brain damage in a toddler who had suffered them due to an accident that occurred in February 2016. State of the art medical procedures were used to reach these results, which doctors say point to an almost complete reversal of the brain damage suffered by the small girl. This case brings to the light certain new procedures that can in the future other brain damaged victims as well.

The accident and subsequent brain damage of the toddler

In February 2016, 2-year-old Eden Carlson fell into a swimming pool, and head remained submerged in the water for almost 15-minute before a family member pulled her out. She was unresponsive upon being recovered, and her parents desperately tried to resuscitate her by giving CPR. However, the child did not respond. Even when the emergency services arrived to revive her, the small child did not indicate a pulse beat.

She was then taken to a nearby hospital and doctors desperately tried to bring her back. After a long time, she finally showed a faint pulse and heart beats, which gave hope to the doctors treating her.

However, she had remained without a heart beat for at least two hours as a result of which doctors diagnosed severe damage to some parts of her brain. Although she was saved, she remained in a semi vegetative state, barely able to communicate with others around her and express her feelings.

How the treatment was done

The doctors who were treating Carlson wanted to try out a revolutionary new medical procedure which was low risk, but could at the same time reverse some of the brain tissue damage that was caused due to the accident. This process involved sealing the child inside a sealed hyperbaric chamber and then administering oxygen to her in a highly pressurized form, which could wake up the cells and repair the damage in the brain.

Initially, hyperbaric specialist Paul Harch administered the oxygen treatments at a normobaric level, which is similar to the air pressure at sea levels. These treatments started 55 days after her accident and involved 45 minutes inside the hyperbaric chamber, twice daily. This helped her to move her hands and feet and also the ability to eat and speak in short spurts.

Three weeks after this, the toddler was transferred to a hospital in New Orleans, which had better hyperbaric facilities and the treatments began once again for Eden. After just ten sessions of the treatment, Eden’s mother said that her daughter was showing tremendous improvements in all her motor and learning skills, as well as cognition. It was reported the=at Eden can now walk and speak just like she used to before the incident.