Abstract
Brain injury is the leading cause of death in pediatric ICU. Current evidence
supports the use of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in unconscious patients after
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest when the initial heart rhythm was ventricular
fibrillation. TH has been proved to be also beneficial in term neonates after
hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and in children with traumatic brain injury
(TBI). Recent reports have also investigated TH for the treatment of
superrefractory status epilepticus. The clinical application of TH is based on
the possibility to inhibit or lessen a myriad of destructive processes (including
excitotoxicty, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, free radical production, seizure
activity, blood- brain barrier disruption, blood vessel leakage) that take place
in the injured tissue following ischemia-reperfusion. TH may also represent a
useful tool when conventional therapy fails to achieve an effective control of
elevated intracranial pressure. This review is aimed to provide an update of the
available literature concerning this intriguing topic.
Lingua originale | English |
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pagine (da-a) | 925-935 |
Numero di pagine | 11 |
Rivista | CURRENT DRUG TARGETS |
Volume | 13 |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2012 |
Keywords
- Neuroprotection