How can heatstroke damage the brain? A mini review

Kazuhiro Yoneda; Sanae Hosomi; Hiroshi Ito; Yuki Togami; Sayaka Oda; Hisatake Matsumoto; Junya Shimazaki; Hiroshi Ogura; Jun Oda

doi:10.3389/fnins.2024.1437216

How can heatstroke damage the brain? A mini review

Front Neurosci. 2024 Oct 10:18:1437216. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1437216. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Kazuhiro Yoneda¹, Sanae Hosomi¹, Hiroshi Ito¹, Yuki Togami¹, Sayaka Oda², Hisatake Matsumoto¹, Junya Shimazaki¹, Hiroshi Ogura¹, Jun Oda¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Traumatology and Acute Critical Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan.
² Laboratory of Human Immunology (Single Cell Genomics), WPI Osaka University Immunology Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.

Abstract

Record-breaking heat waves over the past 20 years have led to a global increase in heat-related deaths, including heatstroke. Heat-related illnesses occur when the body cannot adapt to the elevated temperatures in the environment, leading to various symptoms. In severe situations, such as heatstroke, the body temperature can rise above 40°C, leading to significant injury to body systems, with particular susceptibility of the central nervous system (CNS). Neuroimaging studies conducted months or years after a heatstroke have revealed cellular damage in the cerebellum and other brain regions, including the hippocampus, midbrain, and thalamus, with the potential for long-term neurological complications in survivors of a heatstroke. This mini review aimed to describe the mechanisms and pathways underlying the development of brain injury induced by heatstroke and identify diagnostic imaging tools and biomarkers for injury to the CNS due to a heatstroke.

Keywords: blood–brain barrier; central nervous system injury; diagnosis of heat-related illnesses; genetic analyses; heatstroke.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science [grant numbers 21K09016 and 24K12177] and the General Insurance Association of Japan. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.