ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the early rehabilitation effect of mild hypothermia on patients with herpes simplex viral encephalitis (HSE). Methods A total of 58 patients with HSE were randomized into two groups, a mild hypothermia therapy group (30 cases) and a normothermia control group (28 cases). Their rectal temperatures were controlled to (34±1)℃ and (37.0±0.5)℃ respectively. Serum levels of neuron specific enolase (NSE) were determined through radio-immunoassay (RIA). Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) was measured with ELISA before and 1, 3, 5, and 7 d after treatment. The outcome was evaluated using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) 30 days after treatment. Results Compared with the normothermia control group, the mild hypothermia group's serum levels of NSE and sICAM-1 decreased quickly and significantly during the early stage of treatment and remained better 30 d later. Conclusion Mild hypothermia therapy can dramatically reduce inflamma-tion and facilitate the rehabilitation of damaged neurons, provide protective effects and improve the outcome for pa-tients with SHE.