Funding from brewery attracts expert to SFU autism study

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – An “off-label” treatment for autism is the focus of a first-of-its-kind study at SFU, which is getting its funding from an unusual source.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is currently only available through private clinics and can cost thousands of dollars, which is a big reason a local brewer is supporting the research.

“We’ve agreed to fund it for the next five years at $100,000 a year,” says Darryll Frost, president and found of Central City Brewers and Distillers.

Frost’s five-year-old son Callum is autistic and showed what he calls a dramatic improvement in his development after undergoing HBOT in combination with some other treatments.

“The change in my son was night and day,” he says.

But there has been no significant research on the treatment and not everyone can afford it, so Frost approached Simon Fraser University — home to Canada’s only civilian research hyper/hypobaric chamber — to find out if HBOT works and look into the science behind it.

“If there is a real quantifiable effect, then we need to look at the question of whether or not it is something that should be medically regulated and made medically available to to families that are dealing with autism,” says Dr. Peter Ruben, associate dean of research and advancement in SFU’s Faculty of Science.

Using Central City’s funding, the university has created a research chair in Callum Frost’s name and recruited Dr. Sam Doesburg, a neuroimaging expert, to study the brains of autistic children while undergoing HBOT. The team also includes Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, one of the world’s foremost neuroscientists.

“This is the first time this combination of techniques — hyberbaric oxygen therapy and magnetic encephalography — have been combined to look at autism. This is a big first,” says Ruben.

The research is set to begin this fall as SFU puts the final pieces of the project in place and the list of families interested in taking part in the study grows.

“We don’t know what the answer is — whether there will be a physiological effect or not — but either way it will provide an important answer because if people are spending money on therapy that really isn’t doing anything, they should know that, too.”

Ruben expects “interesting results” within the first year of the study.