As we reported in an early article about Promising SCI Studies, one of the major barriers to proper spinal cord healing is the formation of scar tissue in reaction to the injury. It turns out, hypothermia therapy, which had been regarded as a possible immediate treatment for traumatic brain injury, may also be of use in SCI survivors. Cooling the patient’s body temperature for a period of 2 days or so prevents swelling and slows down the spread of secondary injuries in the spinal cord. Read the original story here.
Does it really work though? From what I’ve read, results in TBI survivors have been inconclusive. I’m not sure how much clinical research has been done on this subject. What do you think?