Interesting treatment uses hypothermia to prevent brain damage

Dan Deuterman

Contributor

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Doctors around the country are experimenting with a new treatment that has been successful in protecting stroke victims and others from brain damage

Physicians use cooling helmets, cooling pads and IVs to induce hypothermia, which decreases the brain's demand for oxygen, thus reducing the likelihood of brain damage.

Sounds like something you'd see on "House," I know, but physicians are using this technique successfully to help stroke victims and oxygen-deprived newborns, who would be at risk for celebral palsy.

This article explains how the hypothermia treatment works to prevent brain damage that results from stroke and birth injuries.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Head and Brain Injury.