Therapeutic Hypothermia Following Traumatic Spinal Injury Morphological and Functional Correlates
Abstract
The primary objective of experiments carried out during the fourth year was to determine the behavioral and morphological impact of systemic hyperthermia following moderate spinal cord injury. In these experiments moderate hyperthermia (39.5-40.0 deg C) was initiated 30 minutes post-injury for a period of four hours. Two days post-injury we initiated the behavioral assessment of locomotor function and at the conclusion of the study a histological analysis of tissue was carried out. Overall, the results support the original hypothesis of this proposal that whole body hyperthermia is capable ofproducing detrimental effects on functional recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury. During the fourth year we also carried out a study evaluating the effects of long term (12 hours) hypothermia on neurologic outcome measures. This study is important in addressing the question of most effective duration of hypothermic treatment following injury. This study is presently ongoing and should be completed within the next four months. In summary the research carried out during the past four years has provided behavioral and morphological evidence that moderate systemic hypothermia is an effective intervention that produces significant benefits in animals undergoing traumatic spinal cord injury. We have determined that these effects are most likely to result if the treatment is initiated within the first thirty minutes post-injury as there appears to be little or no beneficial effect when the treatment is initiated two hours post-injury. Likewise this treatment as delivered in the studies carried out was most effective against functional and anatomical deficits produced by moderate versus severe injury.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA388110
Entities
People
- Robert P. Yezierski
Organizations
- University of Miami