Hypothermia for spinal cord injury
Brian K. Kwon, Cody Mann, Hong Moon Sohn, Alan S. Hilibrand, Frank M. Phillips, Jeffrey C. Wang, Michael G. Fehlings
The Spine Journal, 2007
Therapeutic hypothermia (33°C) after 30 minutes of ischemic injury to the thoracic spinal cord in rats showed improvement of motor function. Moderate hypothermia has also shown potential benefits in invasive procedures including aortic clamp cross-clamping during thoracic surgery. In 2007 a high profile case was reported when an NFL player suffered a cervical spine injury. He was treated immediately on the football field with moderate hypothermia and had a much better outcome than expected. This could be evidence that hypothermia could protect the spinal cord from ischemic injury.