Oxygen Therapy and Cellular Regeneration with Dr. Shai Efrati

I’ll never forget back in medical school that we were told that the brain was “terminally differentiated.” This means that brain cells were what they were, and could never be regenerated. As such, when a person had a stroke or brain injury, that was pretty much the end. There would be no improvement.

That understanding stands in stark contrast to what we have observed. Clearly, stroke patient can and do improve. And, it turns out, that this improvement can be enhanced with a type of therapy that applies pure oxygen under pressure to the patient. This increased oxygen in the brain does some wonderful things including, importantly, enhancing the growth of new brain cells. What a concept.

I have a long experience with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, having founded one of the countries largest hyperbaric centers. Much of the data upon which we relied came from researchers in Israel who were and continue to do cutting edge science demonstrating the profound effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as it relates to stroke recovery. Nowadays, improvements in brain functionality can actually be visualized with state of the art brain imaging equipment.

Today, on the Empowering Neurologist, I have the great honor of interviewing Dr. Shai Efrati, one of the global leaders in the application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of stroke. Dr. Efrati is Founder and Director of the world-leading Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Shamir Medical Center, where he also serves as Director of Research and Development and Head of Nephrology. Dr. Efrati’s research focuses on novel aspects of hyperbaric medicine and brain rehabilitation. He is a professor at the Sackler School of Medicine and the Sagol School of Neuroscience in Tel Aviv University. Since 2008, he has served as Chairman of the Israeli Society for Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine.

Importantly, Dr. Efrati is now associated with the Aviv Clinic, which is not only offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but a far more comprehensive approach for stroke recovery And fortunately, the clinic is located in the Villages, just outside of Orlando Florida.

Please enjoy this fascinating deep dive into the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, especially as it relates to stroke recovery.