Hypothermia News and Research

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When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it can be produced. Prolonged exposure to cold will eventually use up your body’s stored energy. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature. Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well. This makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know it is happening and won’t be able to do anything about it.

Hypothermia is most likely at very cold temperatures, but it can occur even at cool temperatures (above 40°F) if a person becomes chilled from rain, sweat, or submersion in cold water.

AARP urges people to check on elderly family, friends and neighbors in wake of disaster

Sandy has come and gone in New York, leaving a trail of disaster behind, and few know this better than elderly residents in impacted areas. With often times limited mobility, delayed reaction, and reliance on prescriptions for their health, when disaster strikes, the elderly are left struggling.

3 Nov 2012

Winter safety tips for older adults

Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults.

25 Oct 2012

Maintain dogs’ presurgery warmth to avoid hypothermia

Hypothermia is common in dogs after undergoing surgery under anesthetic, especially for diagnostic procedures and when the animal is in poor condition, research indicates.

17 Oct 2012

Investigators provide overview of role of dopamine in modulating the immune system

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with emotions, movement, and the brain's pleasure and reward system. In the current issue of Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, investigators provide a broad overview of the direct and indirect role of dopamine in modulating the immune system and discuss how recent research has opened up new possibilities for treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis or even the autoimmune disorders.

11 Oct 2012

Multiple Epo doses with hypothermia offers neonate neuroprotection

Multiple doses of erythropoietin in combination with hypothermia could be neuroprotective in neonates with hypoxic‑ischemic encephalopathy, say researchers.

1 Oct 2012

Better interventions needed to prevent long-lasting consequences of TBI in children

A child who suffers a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may still have substantial functional disabilities and reduced quality of life 2 years after the injury. After those first 2 years, further improvement may be minimal. Better interventions are needed to prevent long-lasting consequences of TBI in children conclude the authors of a study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

19 Sep 2012

Protocol adherence enhances outcomes in fast-track colorectal surgery

Outcomes following fast-track colorectal surgery are directly related to adherence to enhanced recovery after surgery protocols, shows an Italian study.

13 Sep 2012

Novel model may allow clinicians to predict potential for recovery after SCI

For more than 1 million people in the U.S. living with spinal cord injury, the frightening days and weeks following the injury are filled with uncertainty about their potential for recovery and future independence. A new model based on motor scores at admission and early imaging studies may allow clinicians to predict functional outcomes and guide decision-making for therapy and care-giving needs, as described in an article published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

9 Aug 2012

Survey results of adoption and implementation of therapeutic hypothermia in hospitals

National guidelines recommend the use of therapeutic hypothermia to improve outcomes in patients who suffer a heart attack outside of a hospital. The results of a survey of all 73 acute care hospitals in New Jersey evaluating the adoption and implementation of this life-saving treatment from 2004-2011 is published in Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

3 Aug 2012

‘Fifth link’ improves outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Neurologic outcomes for survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are significantly improved after implementation of the 2010 American Heart Association's fifth link in the chain-of-survival concept for postresuscitation care, show Japanese study results.

3 Aug 2012

Fifth link to complete chain for cardiac arrest care?

Adding a fifth link to the “Chain of Survival” concept for management of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest significantly improves their survival and positive neurologic outcome chances, a study suggests.

31 Jul 2012

Brain injury patterns predict outcomes in oxygen-starved infants

Patterns of brain injury in babies with neonatal hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy predict survival and disability in late infancy, show study findings.

31 Jul 2012

'Fifth link' associated with increase in survival rate among survivors of sudden cardiac arrest

Fewer sudden cardiac arrest survivors had neurologic impairment after a novel regional system of care was implemented, according to research published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.

31 Jul 2012

MRI infant prognosis unaffected by hypothermia

Magnetic resonance imaging is prognostic for newborn infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy regardless of treatment with hypothermia, research shows.

9 Jul 2012

'Adaptive' clinical trials now being planned at U-M, other sites

A new approach to testing medical treatment options could ensure that more patients get the most beneficial treatment for them - but still yield valuable research results that stand up to scientific scrutiny.

2 Jul 2012

Textile cooling pads to prevent neurological damage after successful resuscitation

Textile cooling pads are to be used in future to prevent neurological damage after successful resuscitation. The system developed by scientists from the Hohenstein Institute in Bönnigheim requires no electric power, making it ideal especially for first aid in case of cardiac arrest.

30 Jun 2012

LUHS opens new renovated Emergency Department

Loyola University Health System (LUHS) unveiled its newly renovated Emergency Department (ED) today. This site has been named the John L. Keeley, MD Emergency Department in honor of the late Dr. John L. Keeley who served as chair of Loyola's Department of Surgery from 1958 to 1969.

8 Jun 2012

UAB researchers aim to improve cardiac-arrest-survival rates

The survival rate for people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United States is dismal — around 5 percent — say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

7 Jun 2012

Cardiovascular emergencies may benefit from regionalized systems of care

Experts are proposing a new model of care collaboration to diagnosis, treat and follow patients who present with various emergent cardiovascular conditions which require rapid, resource-intensive care and confer a high risk of mortality, in an article published April 24 in Circulation.

26 Apr 2012

Therapeutic hypothermia reduces in-hospital deaths among sudden cardiac arrest patients

Forced body cooling known as therapeutic hypothermia has reduced in-hospital deaths among sudden cardiac arrest patients nearly 12 percent between 2001 and 2009, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology 2012 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

20 Apr 2012