After years of fictional evidence, scientists have finally found brain health and a “polar bear plunge.”
In a study of the blood profiles of regular winter swimmers in London, researchers at Cambridge University found a protein that slowed the onset of dementia in mice – and also improved some of the damage caused by the disease.
Their findings hinted at why hibernating animals that lose 20% to 30% of synapses during the winter to maintain ber rja explain why they revive neural connections after waking up in the spring.
(iStock)
For decades, doctors have observed the therapeutic and protective benefits of cold weather on some sick patients, but no connection has yet been found.
When they revealed the role of a special protein – RBM3 – as in other mammals, such as bears, the pathology behind its healing power began to take its place.
Dementia can cause hearing loss, study find
In a 2015 study published in the journal Nature, the Cambridge team discovered “cold-shock chemicals” in a study of animals with healthy mice, Alzheimer’s mice and others with prines, which was a neurodegenerative disease. They observed that when healthy mice were placed in a hypothermic state – below 35 સે C – and then carefully regenerated, they benefited from the natural growth of RBM3. Once fully regenerated, the researchers found that even normal rats recovered neurons that were damaged by the initial shock.
Rats with Alzheimer’s and pruritus showed no effect.
But in another experiment, scientists instead artificially increased RBM3 levels in sick rats, then repeated the “cold-shock” process. At this point, the protein prevents sensitive synapses – or cell connectors from breaking – suggesting that RBM3 protects the brain from the effects of dementia.
Their findings point to the revelation of why animals that lose 20% to 30% of synapses during the winter to maintain ber rja are able to reproduce neural connections after waking up in the spring.
At the time, Professor Giovanna Mallucci, who runs the UK Dementia Research Institute Center in Cambridge, admitted to BBC Radio 4 today that the success study could end there as few human subjects would voluntarily submit themselves to hypothermia.
Coronavirus isolation kills Alzheimer’s patients
Those few, however, were paying attention to the call of science. Martin Pate, a swimmer from London’s Parliament Hill Lido, opened the entire outdoor pool, came in contact with researchers, volunteers and a small group of swimmers from the center – after all, they are used to cold temperatures.
Members of the Tai Chi group who practice near the pool were named as the control group, and were not submitted to the cold temperature.
According to the researchers, many swimmers show significantly higher levels of RBM3 than the tai chi group, with core temperatures dropping to 34 degrees Celsius.
Good probability of low comparative risk of dementia in older adults: study
Sharing his latest, unpublished findings in a live panel on YouTube, Malluchi said, “If you slow down the progression of dementia over the entire population for even a few years, it will have a huge economic and health impact.”
However, due to the inherent dangers of swimming in near-cooling temperatures, researchers cannot recommend ice baths as a safe treatment. “Cold-shock” is enough to cause a heart attack or stroke in patients with high blood pressure or cause the swimmer to lose coordination, leading to drowning.
Instead, they hope to find a safe, synthetic method to accelerate RBM3.
Click for more from NYPost.com
