Title:Drug-Induced Hypothermia in Stroke Models: Does it Always Protect?
Volume: 12
Issue: 3
Author(s): Meijuan Zhang, Haiying Wang, Jinbing Zhao, Cong Chen, Rehana K. Leak, Yun Xu, Peter Vosler, Jun Chen, Yanqin Gao and Feng Zhang
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Brain ischemia, hypothermic, neuroprotection, pharmacological cooling.
Abstract: Ischemic stroke is a common neurological disorder lacking a cure. Recent studies show that therapeutic
hypothermia is a promising neuroprotective strategy against ischemic brain injury. Several methods to induce therapeutic
hypothermia have been established; however, most of them are not clinically feasible for stroke patients. Therefore,
pharmacological cooling is drawing increasing attention as a neuroprotective alternative worthy of further clinical
development. We begin this review with a brief introduction to the commonly used methods for inducing hypothermia;
we then focus on the hypothermic effects of eight classes of hypothermia-inducing drugs: the cannabinoids, opioid
receptor activators, transient receptor potential vanilloid, neurotensins, thyroxine derivatives, dopamine receptor
activators, hypothermia-inducing gases, adenosine, and adenine nucleotides. Their neuroprotective effects as well as the
complications associated with their use are both considered. This article provides guidance for future clinical trials and
animal studies on pharmacological cooling in the setting of acute stroke.
