Mild hypothermia ‘can aid brain injury treatment’

A new study has shed light on the potential benefits that mild hypothermia could provide in the treatment of patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

According to a paper in the Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management journal, Chinese researchers compared the effects of normal temperature and hypothermia on rats with head injuries to assess the potential advantages of this approach.

It was found that animals treated with hypothermia had significantly improved behavioural scores and a greater number of surviving neurons compared to the normothermia group.

Moreover, subjects kept at a lower temperature also had significantly reduced levels of certain proteins produced by hippocampal tissue that have been linked to increased severity of brain injury and subsequent cognitive dysfunction and central nervous system disorders.

Dr Dalton Dietrich, editor-in-chief of the journal and a professor at the University of Miami, said: "This interesting manuscript provides new information underlying the beneficial effects of mild hypothermia on cellular responses to TBI and identifies an important target for therapeutic treatments."

According to NHS data, around 700,000 people attend hospital accident and emergency departments with a head injury in England and Wales each year, with around ten percent of these cases being moderate or severe.