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Cold ExposureEvidence & Dosage

Ice baths, cold showers, cold plunges: mechanisms, brown fat activation, metabolism, mood effects, and safety protocols.

Studies last updated

Evidence at a glance

Total studies
355
With abstract
48
Meta / Systematic / RCT
210
Highly cited
50
Publication years
2002–2026

Cold Exposure in the context of Methods

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Top studies on Cold Exposure

Ranked by influential-citation count and publication year.

  1. Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: Pathogenesis and Promising Therapies.

    Mol Neurobiol2025Systematic Review151 influential citations

    Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a brain lesion caused by inadequate blood supply and oxygen deprivation, often occurring in neonates. It has emerged as a grave complication of neonatal asphyxia, leading to chronic neurological…

  2. Targeted temperature management in adult cardiac arrest: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Resuscitation2021n=32Meta-Analysis100 influential citations

    <h4>Aim</h4>To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on targeted temperature management in adult cardiac arrest patients.<h4>Methods</h4>PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched on June…

  3. Neurologic Prognostication After Cardiac Arrest Using Brain Biomarkers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

    JAMA Neurol2022n=10,567Meta-Analysis87 influential citations

    <h4>Importance</h4>Brain injury biomarkers released into circulation from the injured neurovascular unit are important prognostic tools in patients with cardiac arrest who develop hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIBI) after return of…

  4. Effects of therapeutic hypothermia on death among asphyxiated neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

    PLoS One2021n=3,592Systematic Review85 influential citations

    Background Hypoxic perinatal brain injury is caused by lack of oxygen to baby’s brain and can lead to death or permanent brain damage. However, the effectiveness of therapeutic hypothermia in birth asphyxiated infants with encephalopathy…

  5. Established focal therapy-HIFU, IRE, or cryotherapy-where are we now?-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis2025n=49Meta-Analysis76 influential citations

    <h4>Introduction</h4>Focal Therapy (FT) is a treatment option for the treatment of limited volume clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). We aim to systematically review outcomes of established FT modalities to assess the…

  6. Cryotherapy following total knee replacement.

    Cochrane Database Syst Rev2023n=183systematic69 influential citations

    BACKGROUND: Total knee replacement (TKR) is a common intervention for people with end-stage symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, resulting in significant improvements in pain, function and quality of life within three to six months. It is,…

  7. Association between ambient temperature and heat waves with mortality in South Asia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Environ Int2021n=27Meta-Analysis60 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>South Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change and is projected to experience some of the highest increases in average annual temperatures throughout the century. Although the adverse impacts of ambient temperature on…

  8. Targeted temperature management following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of temperature targets.

    Intensive Care Med2021n=10Meta-Analysis59 influential citations

    <h4>Purpose</h4>Targeted temperature management (TTM) may improve survival and functional outcome in comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), though the optimal target temperature remains unknown. We conducted a…

    Finding: The review concluded that routine use of moderate or deep hypothermia in comatose survivors of OHCA may potentially be associated with more harm than benefit.

  9. Exertional Heat Stroke, Modality Cooling Rate, and Survival Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

    Medicina (Kaunas)2020n=521Systematic Review58 influential citations

    Background and Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize the influence cooling modality has on survival with and without medical complications from exertional heat stroke (EHS) in sport and military populations.…

  10. Exercise interventions in lateral elbow tendinopathy have better outcomes than passive interventions, but the effects are small: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 2123 subjects in 30 trials.

    Br J Sports Med2021n=212Meta-Analysis57 influential citations

    Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of exercise compared with other conservative interventions in the management of lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) on pain and function. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods We used the…

Frequently asked

What dosage was studied?
• Hypothermia therapy; drug therapy and stem cell therapy discussed as adjunctive treatments (not reported) • Targeted temperature management (Target of 32-34 °C; also assessed different hypothermic temperature targets and prehospital cooling) • Bloodborne brain injury biomarkers for neurologic prognostication (neurone-specific enolase, S100B, GFAP, neurofilament light, tau, UCH-L1)
Which population does the evidence apply to?
Most studies investigated: unknown; patient.
Are there safety considerations for Cold Exposure?
• Hypothermia is described as the current standard therapy and only partial neuroprotection is noted. • No adverse events of drug or stem cell adjuncts are reported in the abstract. • Not reported in the abstract. • Not reported

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