HBOT Conversations:
Dr. Hemal Mehta & Vibrant Health University
Dr. Hemal Mehta, MD is a Medical Director and an Independent Medical Examiner who focuses on pain management through a Regenerative medicine approach. Dr. Mehta is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Pain Management. He received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his residency at East Carolina. He is the Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina, Tennessee Integrative Pain Institute, and TN Integrative Healthcare: Musculoskeletal and Regenerative Center; additionally, Dr. Mehta is the attending physician at Nashville Regenerative Orthopedics. Dr. Mehta is the 2013 recipient of the Inaugural Patient Appreciation Award at Nashville Academy of Medicine, and the 2004 Research Resident of the Year for East Carolina University. Dr. Mehta has extensive experience with stem cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. He has incorporated Ozone Injection Therapy, PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) Injections, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Regenerative Matrix and Regenerative Medicine Procedures – to name a few – into his integrative wellness & longevity medical practices.
Watch the Podcast
HBOT News Network welcomes back Dr. Hemal V. Mehta, M.D.; Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina. Dr. Mehta has joined HBOT News Network three times previously, where we focused heavily on the topics of fasting & regenerative medicine – see Dr. Mehta & Fasting, Dr. Mehta & Fasting (Part 2), and Dr. Mehta & Regenerative Medicine.
We are thrilled to have Dr. Mehta return to discuss Vibrant Health University. Vibrant Health University is a new start-up educational program through Vibrant Health. It is a way to help educate, not just the public, but also providers who are interested in performing regenerative therapies, regenerative injections, and providing an alternative to patients that’s not typically available.
Vibrant Health University wants to steer the medical field and general public away from the traditional heavy focus of pharmacology and surgical techniques; and educate people more on the integrative approaches available for regenerative therapies and regenerative treatments. What people can expect from Vibrant Health University (once it gets up and going), is a variety of online programs and podcasts they can watch. Then, if interested further, physicians can choose the option for an in-person educational program where Dr. Mehta or his team can visit the physician’s office (or the physician can visit them) and the physician can then witness live demonstrations, and learn how to do proper procedures for regenerative treatments, while incorporating their protocols into their treatment plans.
The courses at Vibrant Health University will be a structured program with a certification process. Dr. Mehta explains that they are planning to provide different tiers. For example, a lower tier, a medium tier, and a higher tier of education to providers based on their level of expertise, and based on how much knowledge they already have and how much they want to obtain. The ultimate goal of the program is to have the courses accredited by the appropriate certifying boards to count as continuing medical education for physicians.
Dr. Mehta & di Giralomo spend time discussing the importance of physician education, the continued benefits of fasting, and how to gain control of excessive inflammation.
Dr. Mehta remind us of Vibrant Health’s focus — to integrate traditional and non-traditional medicine to give each patient the best outlook and care. Ultimately, integrative medicine is integrating functional medicine and holistic therapies with what we’ve learned through history regarding how the human body works. God gave us everything we need to survive from the beginning of human life. Dr. Mehta ends this segment by explaining through the study of medicine, it’s incredibly difficult to not believe that there is a God or a higher power that has created this body. The human body is made to be able to tolerate all kinds of different injuries, in all kinds of different aspects of life, while adapting to the environment. There is absolutely no other machine that man has ever made that’s even similar to the divine healing capabilities of the human body.
If you’d like to know more about Vibrant Health University, please contact Vibrant Health at www.vibranthcs.com/contact/
Guest

Dr. Hemal Mehta
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Recent HBOT News
Executive summary: The Brain Injury and Mechanism of Action of Hyperbaric Oxygen for Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) (BIMA) Study.
The Brain Injury and Mechanism of Action of Hyperbaric Oxygen for Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) (BIMA) study, sponsored by the Department of Defense and held under an investigational new drug application by the Office of the Army Surgeon General, is one of the largest and most complex clinical trials of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO₂) for post-concussive symptoms (PCS) in U.S. military service members.
Hyperbaric oxygen for mild traumatic brain injury: Design and baseline summary.
The Brain Injury and Mechanisms of Action of Hyperbaric Oxygen for Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) (BIMA) study, sponsored by the Department of Defense, is a randomized double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial that has a longer duration of follow-up and more comprehensive assessment battery compared to recent HBO₂ studies. BIMA randomized 71 participants from September 2012 to May 2014. Primary results are expected in 2017. Randomized military personnel received hyperbaric oxygen (HBO₂) at 1.5 atmospheres absolute (ATA) or sham chamber sessions at 1.2 ATA, air, for 60 minutes daily for 40 sessions. Outcomes include neuropsychological, neuroimaging, neurological, vestibular, autonomic function, electroencephalography, and visual systems evaluated at baseline, immediately following intervention at 13 weeks and six months with self-report symptom and quality of life questionnaires at 12 months, 24 months and 36 months. Characteristics include: median age 33 years (range 21-53); 99% male; 82% Caucasian; 49% diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder; 28% with most recent injury three months to one year prior to enrollment; 32% blast injuries; and 73% multiple injuries. This manuscript describes the study design, outcome assessment battery, and baseline characteristics. Independent of a therapeutic role of HBO₂, results of BIMA will aid understanding of mTBI.
Neuropsychological assessments in a hyperbaric trial of post-concussive symptoms.
Results of studies addressing the effect of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on symptoms and neuropsychological assessments are mixed regarding cognitive deficits in these populations. Neuropsychological assessments were compared between U.S. military service members with mTBI only (n=36) vs. those with mTBI÷ PTSD (n=35) from a randomized interventional study of mTBI participants with persistent post-concussive symptoms (PCS). The mTBI group endorsed worse symptoms than published norms on PCS, PTSD and pain scales (⟩50% abnormal on Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI), PTSD Checklist-Civilian, McGill Pain Questionnaire-Short Form) and some quality of life domains. Worse symptom reporting was found in the mTBI÷ PTSD group compared to mTBI (e.g., mean NSI total score in mTBI 27.5 (SD=12.7), mTBI÷ PTSD 39.9 (SD=13.6), p⟨0.001). The mTBI÷PTSD group performed worse than mTBI on the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale digit span (mean difference -1.5, 95% CI[-2.9,-0.1], p=0.04) and symbol search (mean difference -1.5, 95% CI[-2.7,-0.2], p=0.03) and Grooved Pegboard (dominant hand mean difference -7.0, 95% CI[-11.5,-2.4], p=0.003; non-dominant mean difference -9.8, 95% CI[-14.9,-4.7], p⟨0.001). Differences were detected in ANAM simple reaction time (p=0.04) and mathematical processing (p=0.03) but not verbal fluency or visuospatial memory assessments. Results indicate increased symptom severity and some cognitive deficits in mTBI÷ PTSD compared to mTBI alone.
