A case report published in Frontiers in Immunology (August 2025) documents low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) as a potential alternative treatment for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) — particularly for patients who cannot tolerate the conventional Shoemaker-protocol binders and antifungals.
The patient, a 60-year-old woman with a history of mold exposure in a water-damaged building, presented with severe fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, joint pain, and chronic headaches, along with NeuroQuant imaging consistent with CIRS and elevated TGF-β1 and MMP-9 biomarkers. She had previously been unable to tolerate cholestyramine, activated charcoal, clay, chlorella, saccharomyces binders, and antifungal medications including nystatin, itraconazole, and fluconazole.
Over 10 weeks she completed 40 sessions of mild HBOT at 1.3 ATA with 24% oxygen. By the end of treatment, all 22 of her reported symptoms had resolved, her Visual Contrast Sensitivity score had risen from 68% to 93%, and her inflammatory biomarkers had normalized — including significant reductions in TGF-β1 and MMP-9 and increases in VEGF and MSH. While limited to a single-patient observational design, the case adds to emerging evidence that gentler “low-dive” HBOT may offer a safer, well-tolerated option for sensitive CIRS patients than the high-pressure protocols traditionally used.
Author: Kristen L. Coletti Giesler, Be-Well Medicine LLC. Published August 5, 2025 in Frontiers in Immunology. Read the full case report.