Do acute phase markers explain body temperature and brain temperature after ischemic stroke?Author Response

Whiteley et al.1 reported that higher level of circulating markers of the acute inflammatory response in acute stroke were associated with higher temperatures in normal brain. They found no association between blood markers of inflammation and brain temperature in different regions of brain. The authors measured 3 markers of inflammation: C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and fibrinogen. Higher temperature in diffusion-weighted imaging–abnormal brain was not associated with higher body temperature at the time of the first scan, but was associated with higher contemporaneous body temperature at the second scan. Was there any correlation between ischemic lesions and markers of inflammation? For example, did ischemic lesions in the infratentorial lesions correlate with one of these measurements? Body temperature is related to brain lesion in the hypothalamus and direct or indirect damage to the hypothalamus could contribute to the findings. In addition to brain cooling, elevating these biomarkers should be explored further.