Researchers with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are
performing much of the current research into the potential
treatment. Dalton Dietrich, professor of neurological surgery at
the Miami Miller School of Medicine and scientific director of
the Miami Project, said the use of hypothermia goes back as
early as the 1960s for cardiac procedures -- though the side
effects associated with drastically cooling people down were
considerable. Now, Dietrich said, researchers are looking toward
a more modest cooling effect to prevent further nerve damage
after a spinal cord injury. "Over the last 15 to 20 years, in
experimental models of brain and spinal cord injury, we have
shown that modest cooling -- 2 to 3 degrees centigrade -- is
protective and improves outcome," he said. The fact that
treatment began so soon after the injury may have made a big
difference. "The window of opportunity to introduce hypothermia
may be relatively short," Dietrich said. "Hypothermia and other
treatments have to be initiated early afte