Largest Study of Therapeutic Cooling to Reduce Brain Injury after Stroke Is Now Underway

[TECH NEWS]

The largest clinical trial of therapeutic brain cooling (hypothermia) after stroke has launched, led by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. This study looks at whether hypothermia can safely be used in elderly stroke patients. In earlier studies, brain cooling decreased brain swelling after an acute stroke. It also saved lives and prevented neurological damage after cardiac arrest and after oxygen deprivation in newborns. “We know hypothermia works, but is it safe when you consider age and other conditions such as diabetes or hypertension?” said Patrick D. Lyden, M.D., former director of the UC San Diego Stroke Center who now serves as the chairman of the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai and is the study’s overall principal investigator. The study employs an advanced temperature modulation system that provides quick and controlled cooling. A metallic cooling catheter is inserted into the body’s largest vein, the inferior vena cava. No fluid enters the patient, but fluid circulating inside the catheter transfers heat out.

12/7/10, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center