In the Era of Therapeutic Hypothermia, How Well Do Studies of Perinatal Neuroprotection Control Temperature?

In this study we systematically reviewed preclinical neuroprotection studies reported between January 2014 and June 2016 to assess the use of effective temperature monitoring and control. As a secondary measure, we examined whether these studies addressed other important methodological issues, such as the stage of brain development, sex differences, the timing of the treatment relative to the insult, and the duration of follow-up for histological and functional endpoints after hypoxia ischaemia. Our main finding was that only a minority of studies rigorously monitored and controlled body and brain temperatures. Thus, many recent studies cannot exclude the possibility that their findings could have been confounded by unappreciated changes in brain temperature due to drug-induced cooling or environmental conditions.