Experience with therapeutic hypothermia in the treatment of ischemic stroke

Patients and methods. Craniocerebral hypothermia (CCH) was carried out in 25 patients (18 men and 7 women aged 53—82 years) in the acute period (first 72 hours) of ischemic stroke verified by brain computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. An ATG-01 Russian apparatus was used for CCH, which can long maintain scalp temperature at +3±2 °С. Results. There was regression of neurological deficit apparently due to reduced brain edema, lowered intracranial pressure, as well as blood flow improvement in the great vessels of the affected hemisphere, which was indirectly suggestive of better blood supply to the penumbral area and decreased lesion volume. By and large, lower brain temperature is able to restrict the development of all basic pathogenetic mechanisms of neuronal damage in cerebral ischemia. It is stated that further investigations are required to prove the efficiency of CCH