Many mammalian species naturally undergo hibernation, a process that is associated with drastic changes in metabolism and systemic physiology. Their ability to retain an undamaged central nervous system during severely reduced cerebral blood flow has been studied for possible therapeutic application in human ischemic stroke. By inducing a less extreme ‘hibernation-like’ state, it has been hypothesized that similar neuroprotective effects reduce ischemia-mediated tissue damage in stroke patients. This manuscript includes reviews and evaluations of: (1) true hibernation, (2) hibernation-like state and its neuroprotective characteristics, (3) the preclinical and clinical methods for induction of artificial hibernation (i.e., therapeutic hypothermia, phenothiazine drugs, and ethanol), and (4) the mechanisms by which cerebral ischemia leads to tissue damage and how the above-mentioned induction methods function to inhibit those processes.

许多哺乳动物自然会进入冬眠状态，这一过程与新陈代谢和全身生理的急剧变化有关。已经研究了它们在严重减少的脑血流过程中保留未受损的中枢神经系统的能力，可用于在人类缺血性中风中的治疗应用。通过诱导一种不太极端的“冬眠样”状态，已假设类似的神经保护作用可减少中风患者的缺血介导的组织损伤。该手稿包括以下方面的评论和评估：（1）真正的冬眠；（2）冬眠样状态及其神经保护特性；（3）诱导人工冬眠的临床前和临床方法（即治疗性体温过低，吩噻嗪药物和乙醇） ），