Evidences of a post-ischemic chronic encephalophatic process: implications to efficacy of physical therapy and treatment of aphasia

Abstract

Post-ischemic hyperthermia induced a chronic encephalopathic process following ischemia in experimental animals, with sustained neuronal loss and inflammation. Conversely, antipyresis efficiently blocked the development of such chronic neurodegeneration. The confirmation of these phenomena in victims of cerebral-vascular accidents, who are often affected by hyperthermic complications during the early period of recovery, may have profound implications for recovery from neurologic sequelae, including aphasia. Novel therapeutic approaches capable of blocking this neurodegenerative process may lead to structural reorganization of the nervous tissue in response to physical therapy and phonoaudiologic methods.