Can hypothermia make the difference in traumatic brain injuries?

Using hypothermia to help heal brain injuries is a logical but unproven idea.  The latest patient to undergo this therapy is Tejano music star Emilio Navaira, who is being treated at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center because of a tour-bus crash that left him comatose and brain injured.  Doctors quickly began hypothermia treatment in an attempt to reduce injury to his brain.

 

The therapy works like this:  a patient's temperature is reduced to about 92 degrees Fahrenheit in an attempt to give the brain a chance to heal itself.  The theory is that hypothermia causes a decrease in the metabolic rate, allowing the body to get by with less oxygen and control swelling, which can make a brain injury worse.  Hypothermia also slows the production of chemicals released by the body after a traumatic event, which can also be harmful to the brain.

 

So far the results have not been great.  Earlier studies carried in the 1990s found that patients treated with hypothermia fared no better than those who weren’t.  Mr. Navaria is part of a new, better designed study that is about one-third complete – a study that researchers expect will answer the question of whether or not hypothermia treatment is beneficial for treating brain injuries once and for all.

 

It will be a while before the results of this study are in, but we hope that it proves fruitful.  When you consider that about 1.4 million people a year suffer from traumatic brain injuries and 50,000 die, 235,000 are hospitalized, and 80,000 are left with serious disabilities – any new treatment would be a blessing for those suffering the devastating effects of TBI.

 

You can read more about traumatic brain injuries in our library articles, “Making Sense of a Traumatic Brain Injury” and “New Dangers from Brain Injuries”