Transnasal cooling: New prospect of selective hypothermia in acute ischemic stroke

Rapid and selective therapeutic hypothermia is a promising neuroprotective method for acute ischemic stroke. A recent study developed a simple but efficient technique of transnasal cooling, in which air at ambient temperature was passed through standard nasal cannula to induce evaporative cooling of the brain. Selective brain temperature decrease was achieved within 25 minutes in piglets. It is a major step forward to initiate early brain cooling. However, it is still necessary to devise a more comprehensive strategy to enhance the benefits of selective brain cooling in the era of effective reperfusion.