Sedation and brain recovery after cardiac arrest
Official title: Role of Sedation in the Post-Cardiac Arrest Neurological Recovery
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11284021 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether different sedation approaches help adults recover brain function after a cardiac arrest.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2023 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $463,602 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS129857-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11284021 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (21 years and older) who are comatose after return of spontaneous circulation following cardiac arrest and are receiving ICU care and sedation would be ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children, people without cardiac arrest-related brain injury, or patients who are not sedated would not be expected to benefit or be eligible.
What this research studies
If I were a patient who regained circulation after a cardiac arrest but remained unconscious, doctors would continuously monitor my brain with quantitative EEG and record the sedative drugs and doses I receive. The team will compare how sedation depth and specific agents (for example, propofol-related slow-wave EEG patterns) relate to cerebral blood flow, metabolism, and early EEG markers. They will link those physiologic and EEG findings to clinical outcomes such as awakening, neurologic status, and survival to hospital discharge. The work is done at bedside in the ICU with careful clinical data and monitoring to determine whether sedation can help or harm brain recovery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help clinicians choose sedation approaches that improve brain recovery and survival after cardiac arrest.
How similar studies have gone: Prior reports have linked sedative-induced slow-wave EEG patterns (for example with propofol) to better outcomes, but the direct role of sedation after cardiac arrest is still unproven.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ichinose, Fumito — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Ichinose, Fumito
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Investigating how sedation affects recovery after cardiac arrest
This study is looking at how sedation affects brain recovery in people who have had a cardiac arrest, to see if being sedated helps their brain function better after they start to wake up.
-
Multi-center study on how ventilation during CPR relates to cardiac arrest outcomes
A large, real-world study will look at how ventilation during CPR affects survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in adults.
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Specialized post-arrest care after cardiac arrest
A large, nationwide effort tests whether transferring cardiac arrest patients to a specialized post-arrest care center improves recovery compared with usual care.
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Pediatric ICU Sedation and Brain Recovery after Injury
This grant studies how sedation given in the pediatric ICU affects short- and long-term brain recovery in children who have suffered brain injuries.
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Reduce bias in predicting brain recovery after cardiac arrest
This project aims to make brain-recovery predictions more accurate for people who survive cardiac arrest by comparing outcomes between the United States and Brazil.
-
Fairer brain recovery predictions after cardiac arrest through U.S.–Brazil collaboration
This project aims to find better ways to predict brain recovery for people who survive cardiac arrest but have possible brain injury.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.