Mild hypothermia as a treatment for central nervous system injuries Positive or negative effects?

Besides local neuronal damage caused by the primary insult, central nervous system injuries may secondarily cause a progressive cascade of related events including brain edema, ischemia, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, and dysregulation of calcium homeostasis. Hypothermia is a beneficial strategy in a variety of acute central nervous system injuries. Mild hypothermia can treat high intracranial pressure following traumatic brain injuries in adults. It is a new treatment that increases survival and quality of life for patients suffering from ischennic insults such as cardiac arrest, stroke, and neurogenic fever following brain trauma. Therapeutic hypothermia decreases free radical production, inflammation, excitotoxicity and intracranial pressure, and improves cerebral metabolism after traumatic brain injury and cerebral ischemia, thus protecting against central nervous system damage. Although a series of pathological and physiological changes as well as potential side effects are observed during hypothermia treatment, it remains a potential therapeutic strategy for central nervous system injuries and deserves further study.