EBO2 (EBOO) glossary

Plain-language definitions of the terms clinics and papers use when talking about EBO2 (also called EBOO) and ozone therapy.

10-pass ozone (also: 10 pass, hyperbaric ozone, OHT)

A high-dose variant of major autohemotherapy in which roughly 200 mL of blood is drawn, ozonated under pressure, and reinfused, repeated about ten times in a single session. Unlike EBO2, blood is processed in batches and is not filtered.

21 CFR 801.415 (also: 21 CFR § 801.415, FDA ozone regulation)

The FDA device regulation stating that ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy, and setting a maximum acceptable ozone level for equipment that generates it. It is the regulatory basis for calling ozone not FDA-approved.

Anticoagulation during EBO2 (also: blood thinning during treatment)

Adding an anticoagulant, most often heparin, to blood as it enters an extracorporeal circuit so it does not clot in the tubing or filter. It is a standard safety step in EBO2, not a treatment for a patient's own clotting disorder.

Apheresis (also: blood component separation)

A general term for procedures that withdraw blood, separate out one component such as plasma or platelets, and return the rest to the patient. Plasmapheresis is one form of apheresis; EBO2 does not separate out and discard or replace a specific blood component the way apheresis does, since it filters and re-oxygenates the blood as it circulates.

Autohemotherapy (also: ozone autohemotherapy, autohaemotherapy)

A general term for withdrawing a patient's own blood, exposing it to a gas such as ozone outside the body, and reinfusing it into the same patient. Major and minor autohemotherapy are the two volumes clinics commonly use.

Chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) (also: mold illness, biotoxin illness)

A proposed diagnosis describing a cluster of symptoms attributed to biotoxin exposure, most often from water-damaged buildings. It is not a widely recognized diagnosis in mainstream medicine, and no controlled evidence connects EBO2 to it specifically.

Related: Oxidative stress.

EBO2 (EBOO) (also: EBOO, extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation)

Extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation. Blood is drawn continuously from one arm, passed through a filter and a gas-exchange device where it is exposed to an oxygen/ozone mixture, and returned through the other arm. Clinics use "EBO2" and "EBOO" interchangeably.

Extracorporeal circuit (also: extracorporeal circulation, ex vivo circuit)

Any system that carries a patient's blood outside the body through tubing and a device, such as a filter or gas exchanger, before returning it. Dialysis, heart bypass, and EBO2 all use an extracorporeal circuit, though the device inside the circuit differs.

G6PD deficiency (also: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, favism)

An inherited enzyme deficiency that leaves red blood cells poorly defended against reactive oxygen species, so infections, certain drugs, and fava beans can trigger sudden red blood cell breakdown. Because ozone is itself an oxidative stimulus, it is treated as a reason to screen before ozone therapy rather than a condition ozone treats.

Gamma, as used for ozone dose (also: γ)

A shorthand some ozone-therapy papers use for ozone concentration, typically expressed as micrograms of ozone per milliliter of gas. It describes dose strength, not the total volume of gas or blood used in a session.

Related: Ozone concentration, µg/mL.

Hemofilter (dialysis-type filter) (also: dialysis filter, membrane filter)

A hollow-fiber membrane cartridge, similar to those used in dialysis, that EBO2 systems pass blood through. Manufacturers and clinics describe it as removing some fats, cellular debris, and inflammatory proteins; the clinical significance of what is removed has not been established in controlled trials.

Related: EBO2 (EBOO).

Hemolysis (also: red blood cell breakdown, haemolysis)

Premature destruction of red blood cells that releases their contents into the bloodstream faster than the body can replace the cells. It can follow infection, certain drugs, or an oxidative stimulus in someone with an underlying vulnerability such as G6PD deficiency.

Heparin (also: unfractionated heparin)

An anticoagulant medication that reduces the blood's ability to clot. EBO2 clinics add it to the extracorporeal circuit to keep blood from clotting in the tubing and filter; it is not given to treat any condition the patient has.

Hollow-fiber membrane (also: hollow fiber membrane, fiber cartridge)

A cartridge packed with thousands of thin, porous tubes that blood flows past so it can exchange gas or filter waste without gas bubbles entering the bloodstream directly. Dialysis, plasmapheresis, and EBO2 devices all use this design.

MAH treatment cycle (also: MAH session, autohemotherapy cycle)

The draw, ozonate, and reinfuse sequence used within one major autohemotherapy session. Each pass handles a batch of roughly 200 mL, far less than EBO2's continuous circulation of a large fraction of blood volume, and clinics offering 10-pass ozone repeat the cycle about ten times rather than running the single, continuous pass EBO2 uses.

Major autohemotherapy (MAH) (also: MAH, autohemotherapy)

A form of ozone therapy in which a volume of blood (commonly 50 to 200 mL) is drawn into a bag or bottle, mixed with an oxygen/ozone gas mixture, and reinfused into the same patient. Repeating the cycle many times in one session is marketed as "10-pass" ozone.

Related: 10-pass ozone, EBO2 (EBOO).

Medical ozone generator (also: ozone generator, corona-discharge generator)

A device that produces ozone gas on site from medical-grade oxygen, typically using a corona-discharge or ultraviolet process, immediately before use. Clinics do not store ozone, since it is unstable and reverts to oxygen within a short time.

Minor autohemotherapy (also: mAH, small-volume autohemotherapy)

A low-volume technique in which a few milliliters of the patient's blood are mixed with an oxygen/ozone mixture and injected into a muscle rather than back into a vein. It uses far less blood than major autohemotherapy and is not the technique EBO2 clinics use.

Nrf2 pathway (also: NFE2L2, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2)

A cell signaling pathway that switches on genes for antioxidant enzymes and other protective proteins when a cell senses oxidative stress. Ozone-therapy researchers propose that a brief ozone dose activates this pathway, based mainly on laboratory and animal studies rather than EBO2 patient trials.

Off-label practice (also: off-label use, unapproved use)

Using an approved drug or device for a purpose, dose, or patient group the FDA did not review and clear, a judgment call the FDA leaves to licensed physicians. The term fits EBO2 itself imperfectly: ozone has no FDA-approved use at all, which is a stronger regulatory gap than an approved product simply being used off-label.

Oxidative preconditioning (also: ozone preconditioning, hormetic stimulus)

The idea that a small, controlled oxidative stimulus, such as the ozone dose used in EBO2, trains the body's antioxidant defenses to respond more strongly to later stress. Proponents cite laboratory work on this mechanism; clinical outcome data specific to EBO2 remain limited.

Oxidative stress

An imbalance between reactive oxygen species and the body's antioxidant defenses. Proponents of ozone therapy argue that a brief, controlled oxidative stimulus triggers protective antioxidant responses; critics note that this mechanism is inferred largely from laboratory and animal work.

Related: Ozone (O3).

Ozonated saline (also: ozonated normal saline, ozone saline infusion)

Sterile saline that has been bubbled with ozone gas and is then given intravenously. Some clinics offer it as an alternative to autohemotherapy; it treats a saline solution rather than the patient's own blood, which is what EBO2 does.

Ozone (O3)

A gas made of three oxygen atoms. Medical ozone is produced on site from pure oxygen and is always delivered as an oxygen/ozone mixture. Inhaled ozone is a lung irritant; the US FDA states ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application (21 CFR 801.415).

Ozone concentration, µg/mL (also: ozone dose)

The amount of ozone dissolved in a given volume of gas, usually reported in micrograms per milliliter. Clinics and researchers vary this figure to set treatment dose, since it is the main variable an ozone generator controls.

Plasmapheresis / therapeutic plasma exchange (also: therapeutic plasma exchange, TPE)

An extracorporeal procedure that separates plasma from blood cells, discards or treats the plasma, and returns the blood with a replacement fluid. It is an established treatment for specific autoimmune and blood disorders. EBO2 does not remove or replace plasma; the blood simply passes through a filter and gas exchanger and returns.

Rectal or vaginal ozone insufflation (also: rectal ozone, vaginal ozone, ozone enema)

Introducing an oxygen/ozone mixture into the rectum or vagina, where it is thought to be partly absorbed through the mucous membrane. It is a separate ozone-therapy method from EBO2, which treats blood outside the body instead of using insufflation.

Venous access (also: IV access, peripheral line)

Placement of a needle or catheter into a vein so blood can be withdrawn or returned. EBO2 typically uses one line in each arm: one to draw blood out and one to return it after ozone exposure.