Monday 19 October 2020

Cold-Shock Cure for Dementia?

It has been known, for some time, that most Mammals can produce a protein on being exposed to cold, that protects the brain as the animal hibernates. This protein has been shown, in mice, to even repair some of the damage that is normally associated with dementia. Dementia is, of course, a growing problem in aging human populations. Cold-shock, as one might get with cold water swimming, stimulates the production of the protective protein in mice. A study has now been carried out by Cambridge University on human swimmers at London's Parliament Hill Lido (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54531075#:~:text=Cold%20water%20swimming%20may%20protect%20the%20brain%20from,like%20dementia%2C%20researchers%20from%20Cambridge%20University%20have%20discovered.). They found that some of the participants showed an increase in the protein after doing cold-water swims. It remains, of course, to show that the protein can actually protect (or even repair) the brains of humans who might be prone to dementia. I gather that, if the protein works, the intention is not to force old folk into cold swimming pools or cold showers. The alternative hope is to find drugs that will stimulate the production of the protein. I suspect that GM techniques could be used to directly produce the protein but it might stimulate immune responses when injected. Still, I now think I understand why Finns go straight from the sauna to an ice-covered lake and why there is this annual enthusiasm, in some parts of the UK, for having a swim (for charity?) on Boxing Day.

No comments:

Some of My Favourite Pictures of Lepidopteran Larvae

Caterpillars of moths and butterflies from the UK and India