title: [After your heart arrest, would you like to test a medicinal elixir?].
abstract: So far, cardiac arrest is still associated with high mortality or severe neurological disability in survivors. At the tissue level, cardiac arrest results into an acute condition of generalized hypoxia. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of ischemia-reperfusion and of the inflammatory response that develops after cardiac arrest could help to design novel therapeutic strategies in the future. It seems unlikely that a single drug, acting as a <<magic bullet>>, might be able to improve survival or neurological prognosis. Lessons learned from pathophysiological mechanisms rather indicate that combined therapies, involving thrombolysis, neuroprotective agents, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules, together with temperature cooling, might represent helpful strategies to improve patient's outcome after cardiac arrest.
authors.affiliation: Centre interdisciplinaire des urgences BH 06, CHUV, 1011 Lausanne. PierreNicolas.Carron@hospvd.ch
authors.forename: P-N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Carron
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hugli
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liaudet
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yersin
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents