Hypothermia Treatment
There are two major methods for inducing hypothermia after injury:
- Local hypothermia induced with a cold water circulation around the local, injured tissue
- Systemic hypothermia by reducing the body temperature of the entire animal
We are currently investigating effects of systemic hypothermia by focusing on the changes in our electrophysiological markers due to early hypothermia after injury.
We have shown that a single, acute administration of hypothermia can potentially provide a long-term functional benefit as measured by somatosensory electrophysiological measurements as well as increasing motor behavior scores. Two hours of early moderate hypothermia initiated within ~2 hours after injury lead to sustained improvements in somatosensory conduction indicated by SSEP waveforms, higher BBB scores and reduced tissue damage up to 4 weeks following injury. Preservation of SEP pathways early after injury suggests that acute hypothermia may be potentially beneficial for long-term recovery.
- This work has been published in: A. Maybhate, C. Hu, F. A. Bazley, Q. Yu, N. V. Thakor, C. Kerr, and A. All, "Potential Long Term Benefits of Acute Hypothermia after Spinal Cord Injury: Assessments with Somatosensory Evoked Potentials", Accepted for publication in Critical Care Medicine, July 2011