Methods to produce brain hyperthermia.

Abstract

With the increase in global warming, the problems of hyperthermia have recently attracted world-wide medical attention. Deaths due to heat-related illnesses that have occurred in many human populations in recent years are now recognized as a great social and medical problem. Interestingly, the detailed mechanisms of hyperthermia and probable therapeutic measures have still not been worked out. Thus, good experimental models to simulate hyperthermia under clinical conditions are needed to expand our knowledge in the field and to develop suitable therapeutic strategies in the future. This unit describes an animal model to induce hyperthermia that is comparable to the clinical situation. The model will be useful for studying the effects of heat-related illnesses on various organs and systems. Because hyperthermia is associated with brain dysfunction, methods to assess some crucial parameters of brain injury, such as breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and brain edema formation, are also described.