What this means
The authors describe a framework for adjusting hyperbaric oxygen dosing based on body markers. It is a conceptual idea, not a tested method, and it needs future studies to check it.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- People
- Kind of research
- A summary of earlier studies
The science
- Original title
- Precision hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a biomarker-driven framework.
- Authors
- Simayijiang H, Lin Y, Zhong T et al.
- Journal
- Journal of translational medicine
- Published
- Oct 28, 2026
- Study type
- Review · in humans
- PMID
- 42947214 ↗
Abstract
Background
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) remains limited by insufficient individualization, a lack of biomarker-guided dosing, and heterogeneous clinical outcomes across indications and patient populations. We propose a translational, biomarker-driven framework for treating HBOT as a measurable and titratable intervention. This narrative review presents a conceptual framework rather than a formal systematic review or a clinically validated dosing algorithm.
What they did
Dosing is quantified using pressure-time integral (PTI) and cumulative oxygen exposure. A three-tier biomarker architecture supports decision-making: proximal sensors (redox balance, mitochondrial function, endothelial and microcirculatory responses), mechanistic mediators (inflammation-immunity and senescence), and integrative endpoints (epigenetic clocks, multi-omics, functional outcomes, and patient-reported measures). These signals are proposed for integration into a Composite Response Index (CRI) to support prospective evaluation of real-time monitoring and adaptive titration across treatment cycles and clinical scenarios. Evidence is synthesized narratively across HBOT indications, oxygen-biology mechanisms, safety literature, trial-methodology guidance, and biomarker-practicality considerations.
What they found
The framework proposes candidate, prospectively testable rules for dose adjustment, phenotype-based stratification, and biologically aligned monitoring schedules. It supports dual-channel stratification by indication and phenotype, enabling hypothesis-driven "right patient, right dose" strategies, and integrates evidence generation across randomized trials, platform studies, and real-world data using causal inference and Bayesian approaches. These operational rules are intended as framework-level proposals and require prospective validation before routine clinical implementation. This biomarker-driven strategy operationalizes HBOT as a quantifiable intervention, enabling personalized dosing, improved reproducibility, and more consistent clinical responses, with translational potential across neurorehabilitation, cardiometabolic health, wound care, and healthy ageing. The CRI, PTI-based dose mapping, biomarker thresholds, and titration rules should therefore be interpreted as a de novo implementation framework and prospective validation target, not as clinically validated decision limits.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Simayijiang H, Lin Y, Zhong T et al. Precision hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a biomarker-driven framework. Journal of translational medicine. 2026. doi:10.1186/s12967-026-08722-w. PMID: 42947214. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42947214/
See all research on Hyperbaric oxygen therapy →