Animal studies of neonatal hypothermic neuroprotection have translated well in to practice.
The discovery that mild, induced hypothermia can improve neurological recovery after global moderate to severe hypoxia-ischemia has been a dramatic validation of the strong foundation of preclinical studies that informed current protocols. The major challenge is to find ways to further improve outcomes. As discussed in this review, the findings from large clinical trials of extended cooling are highly concordant with recent animal studies. These findings support the use of precise, carefully selected animal models to refine our strategies to protect babies with moderate to severe encephalopathy before instigating further large trials.
Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019 Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: aj.gunn@auckland.ac.nz.
Alistair J
AJ
Gunn
Department of Physiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Neonatal Neuroscience, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Bristol, UK. Electronic address: marianne.thoresen@medisin.uio.no.
Marianne
M
Thoresen
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
Cardiac arrest; Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; Temperature; Therapeutic hypothermia