Effect of hypothermia on blood-brain barrier permeability following traumatic brain injury in chronically ethanol-treated rats

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of hypothermia on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI) in chronically ethanol-treated rats. BBB permeability was measured using Evans blue (EB) dye. Arterial blood pressure levels of animals in hypothermic groups decreased significantly. The EB dye extravasation into the brain significantly increased in hypothermia and at 6 and 24 h after TBI. In ethanol-treated rats that were subjected to TBI, hypothermia led to a significant decrease in EB dye content in the brain at 24 h but not at 6 h after TBI when compared with TBI alone.