X-Message-Number: 27637
From: "Basie" <>
Subject: Dilemma for cryonic responders
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 20:36:32 -0500

Does this (see below) mean that cryonic responders will have to give 
patients oxygen to prevent damage to their brains but risk reviving them.

Basie
Oxygen to fight strokes

Last updated: Monday, February 20, 2006
When someone suffers a stroke, time is of the essence: There's only about a 
three-hour window to administer the most effective drug treatment.
But now, an analysis of previous research provides more evidence that 
paramedics and doctors can stop the clock - at least temporarily - with 
heavy doses of oxygen.
"It [the initial finding] still holds up," said study senior author Dr 
Aneesh Singhal, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical 
School. "And theoretically, the risks are very minimal as compared to the 
potential benefit."
Major strides in stroke care
Over the past decade, doctors have made major strides in stroke care, thanks 
to a drug treatment called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA. If given 
within three hours of a stroke, the drug can break up clots that prevent 
proper blood flow.
But it's not always possible to get a stroke victim to a hospital and run 
the appropriate tests in time for that deadline.
Enter oxygen treatment, which could provide enough valuable oxygen to the 
brain to keep conditions stable for a while.
One idea was to put stroke patients in hyperbaric chambers, which force 
oxygen into the body through high pressure; the chambers are perhaps best 
known for their use as a treatment for scuba divers struggling with the 
bends. But the hyperbaric approach didn't work in stroke patients, Singhal 
said.
Heavy doses of oxygen given
So, he and other researchers tried a different approach, using simple 
facemasks to deliver heavy doses of oxygen. They used MRI brain scans to 
track 19 stroke patients, 11 of whom received special treatment with oxygen 
and eight who only breathed room air.
The researchers found that oxygen treatment appeared to reduce significantly 
the damage from stroke, both four hours and 24 hours after an attack.
The findings were first reported in the journal Stroke in October 2005. 
Singhal and his colleagues re-examined the existing research using a 
different statistical analysis and released their latest findings Friday at 
the American Stroke Association's annual conference, in Kissimmee, Fla.
Their conclusion: Even when viewed in a different light, the oxygen 
treatment seems to work.
Oxygen therapy for stroke patients might serve to protect them as they wait 
for full treatment in a hospital, Singhal said. And since the treatment is 
simple, paramedics could administer it in an ambulance.
Why does oxygen work?
Singhal said researchers aren't sure about the exact process, but it likely 
has something to do with bringing oxygen to brain tissues that aren't 
getting enough of it because of disruption in blood flow.
Dr Argye Hillis, associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins 
University, said the findings are promising, although the number of 
participants was small.
"It certainly is a cheap intervention," Hillis said, adding that there's 
"very little risk" from getting oxygen for a short period of time.
If further research confirms that the treatment works, there could be major 
benefits by extending the time window for treating stroke, she said. "If we 
could extend the time window to four hours instead of three hours, we might 
be able to treat a lot more patients."(HealthDayNews)

(February 2006)

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