Akron (Ohio) Children's Hospital is seeking youth athletes to participate in a clinical trial analyzing the effectiveness of brain cooling therapy after a concussion, according to The Vindicator.
Researchers are looking for young athletes, between the ages of 12 years old and 19 years old, who have been diagnosed with a concussion but are otherwise in generally good health.
After undergoing an initial screening, study participants will be randomly assigned to either complete brain rest alone or brain rest and Pro-2-Cool concussion therapy. Designed to be noninvasive, the Pro-2-Cool system features a hypothermic cold therapy device that provides localized cooling to the neck and head.
"Just like icing a hurt knee or ankle, cooling the blood may reduce swelling and prevent early cellular damage," said Joe Congeni, MD, director of sports medicine at Akron Children's Hospital and the principal investigator for the study, according to The Vindicator. "Cooling therapy has long been used in treating heart attacks and brain injury in newborns. We are excited to see where this research takes us in concussion treatment."
If placed in the cooling therapy group, participants will receive treatment during the initial clinic visit and then once again 72 hours later.