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.

Russian physicists propose unique method to avoid implants rejection

A group of Russian physicists, with the contribution from their Swiss colleagues, developed a way to use the therapeutic effect of heating or cooling the tissues due to the magnetocaloric effect.

5 Aug 2016

Scientists develop new optical fiber-based probe for brain temperature measurements

The brain is the most temperature-sensitive organ in the body. Even small deviations in brain temperature are capable of producing profound effects--including behavioral changes, cell toxicity, and neuronal cell death. The problem faced by researchers and clinicians is how to measure and understand the

20 Jul 2016

Study underscores importance of evidence-based medical care in improving health of neonates

Born too soon, very premature infants are particularly vulnerable and need appropriate care.

8 Jul 2016

Physicians may need to allow sufficient time before predicting outcomes in comatose cardiac arrest patients

Physicians may be drawing conclusions too soon about survival outcomes of patients who suffered a cardiac arrest outside the hospital.

4 Jul 2016

Study assesses prevalence of delirium among survivors of cardiac arrest treated with hypothermia

A study in the American Journal of Critical Care found a remarkably high prevalence of delirium in a small cohort of critically ill patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest.

1 Jul 2016

Novel adaptive mechanisms in hibernating animals may provide clues to mitigate cardiac injury

Novel adaptations discovered in hibernating animals may reveal ways to mitigate injuries associated with strokes, heart attacks and organ transplants, according to researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Duke University.

23 Jun 2016

Nine creative ways to improve cognitive development of children in developing countries

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, and the "Saving Brains" partners today announced investments in nine creative ways to protect and nurture the cognitive development of children in developing countries.

23 May 2016

Neurotoxic effects of chemotherapy may impair cognitive function in young ALL patients

The neurotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs on the developing brains of young patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may impair their cognitive functioning by disrupting the formation of neural networks that connect brain regions and transfer information.

19 May 2016

New set of practice guidelines from WMS may help in treatment, prevention of drowning

Drowning is a global threat to human health. Each year, more than 372,000 people die as a result of drowning, with many of those deaths being preventable by simple water safety measures. In order to arm professionals with the most up-to-date clinical protocols, the Wilderness Medical Society has issued a new set of practice guidelines for both the treatment and prevention of drowning, published in the society's official journal, Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.

10 May 2016

Nepal, one year on – VSO heads up new recovery and reconstruction hub.

VSO and the UK government (DfID) have set up the ‘National Disaster Recovery Coordination Secretariat’ (NDRCS) in Kathmandu. It aims to help rebuild Nepal, following the devastation of two earthquakes (25th April and 12th May 2015) which claimed nearly 9,000 lives and left hundreds of thousands people homeless.

25 Apr 2016

New treatment reduces cerebral damage in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients

Among comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, treatment with inhaled xenon gas combined with hypothermia, compared with hypothermia alone, results in less white matter damage.

16 Mar 2016

Understanding dangers of binge drinking

Researchers estimate that each year 1,825 college students ages 18-24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle collisions. About 20 percent of college students meet the criteria for an alcohol use disorder, with one in four college students report adverse academic consequences from drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall.

14 Mar 2016

Hypothermia associated with increased risk for infection in patients undergoing surgery

A Henry Ford Hospital finds that hypothermia, a relatively common but unintentional occurrence during surgery, is associated with an increased risk for infection in patients who undergo surgery to repair a hip fracture.

3 Mar 2016

New perioperative guideline released for optimal management of geriatric patients

Responding to the needs of the country's growing older adult population, a new collaborative best practices guideline was released today for optimal care of older adults immediately before, during, and after surgical operations (a timeframe known as the "perioperative" period).

5 Jan 2016

Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest improves survival and neurological outcomes

Survivors of cardiac arrest who remain in comas have better survival and neurological outcomes when their body temperatures are lowered, according to new research by Dr. Sarah Perman at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

25 Nov 2015

New study finds evidence to support meperidine-associated seizure risk

Meperidine, an opioid analgesic commonly used to control shivering in accidental or therapeutic hypothermia, has been linked to increased seizure risk, but a new study finds little published evidence to support this risk.

24 Nov 2015

Study confirms neuroprotective effects of hypothermia in newborns with HIE

A unique study at Children's Hospital Los Angeles of newborns treated with hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) - a condition that occurs when the brain is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply - confirms its neuroprotective effects on the brain.

9 Oct 2015

Head injury patients do not benefit from brain cooling therapy

Head injury patients do not benefit from a therapy that involves cooling their bodies to reduce brain swelling, research has found.

8 Oct 2015

New cell type appears to drive life-threatening food allergies

Researchers have discovered a new cell type that appears to drive life-threatening food allergies and may help explain why some people get severe allergic reactions and others do not.

22 Sep 2015

Finding by UCSF researchers could increase availability of kidneys for transplant

Mild hypothermia in deceased organ donors significantly reduces delayed graft function in kidney transplant recipients when compared to normal body temperature, according to UC San Francisco researchers and collaborators, a finding that could lead to an increase in the availability of kidneys for transplant.

30 Jul 2015