Chill May Help Stroke Victims

B O S T O N, Aug. 31 -- “In cold blood” may have new meaning for stroke victims.

A team of Danish researchers says lowering the body temperature by 1 degree Celsius has helped a small group of stroke sufferers survive and has lessened their development of brain damage.

The study of 17 people is being reported in the current issue of the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

Doctors at the Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen treated patients who had moderate strokes by lowering their body temperature within 12 hours of the event.

Compared with patients who’d had standard stroke treatment, the patients who were chilled with a cooling blanket were nearly twice as likely to survive six months later and had less brain damage, the researchers found.

Stroke occurs when the blood — and therefore, oxygen — supply to the brain is cut off, either by a blood vessel suddenly clotting or bursting open as in a hemorrhage.

As a result, brain tissue becomes damaged or dies, affecting speech and motor capabilities. Treatment of stroke patients can include immediately administering a drug called t-PA or other anti-clotting medicines to clear a clogged blood vessel, or surgical intervention when necessary.

Icy Waters Ahead

Researchers are not yet sure why lowering the temperature seems to reduce neuronal damage.

“We have known that lowering the temperature does slow brain metabolism, and can protect the brain in an acute [stroke] event,” says Harold Adams, a professor of neurology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, commenting on the study. “You’ve heard stories about children falling in icy water during the winter and being resuscitated after a prolonged period. The presumption is that the hypothermia was protective.”

But experts caution the Danish work is preliminary and only involved a small sample of patients with mild stroke. Questions still needing resolution include which patients would benefit from the treatment, what temperature is ideal and how quickly should the body temperature be lowered.