In recent years, there have been many publications on the potential benefits of an unusual approach to saving people who have suffered a stroke or heart attack. Its essence is to lower body temperature in order to reduce oxygen consumption, the level of which in the blood drops sharply
According to researcher Andrei Romanovsky, low body temperature can give many other effects (besides the one mentioned) - from prolonging human life to prolonging space flights by introducing astronauts into a state of suspended animation.
All in all, sounds mesmerizing, especially about life extension. In space and suspended animation - why not. And if in Moscow? That is, we must not forget about two simple facts. First, a person easily falls ill due to hypothermia; bacteria and viruses, which were under the control of the immune system, are then able to take over. Why? More on this below. Secondly, the disease is almost always accompanied by a fever, and the more difficult it is for the immune system, the more bacteria or viral particles, the higher the temperature. Everything is simple here: as the temperature rises, the rate of enzymatic reactions increases sharply. So our body tries to help the immune system overcome the infection, take control of the number of parasites and move the situation towards reducing their population.
That is why, not having the most trained immune system, the average city dweller easily falls ill with any hypothermia. When the temperature drops, even locally, his immune system begins to work too slowly, and the rate of infection development hardly changes. Now imagine that you are constantly under the influence of such a powerful risk factor - your body temperature is constantly below normal, and the rate of chemical reactions carried out by the immune system is dramatically reduced. Life will be short-lived, although the potential is oh-ho.
In a word, while it is worth limiting ourselves to the really necessary use of "lowered body temperature" - to protect tissues from oxygen starvation.
A natural barrier to lowering body temperature and, as a consequence, protecting brain cells from oxygen starvation after a stroke is our own mechanism of thermal regulation. The blood vessels of the skin contract, a small tremor begins, the brown adipose tissue generates heat, and the patient feels a burning desire to find a warmer place. All this is a consequence of the thermoelectric effect. A special protein receptor TRPM8, which is expressed in sensory neurons, when activated by low temperature (or by cooling agents - that is why it is a receptor to receive and respond to extracellular signals) opens a special channel in the cell membrane, allowing calcium ions to pass through it and sodium, which in turn generate bioelectric potential inside the cell, forcing the sensory neuron to send a signal to the nervous system. This ultimately leads to a feeling of coldness.
An experimental pharmaceutical product developed by Andrey Romanovsky's Fever Lab (USA) is capable of reliably blocking the TRPM8 receptor, which is usually activated when the skin is cooled. It is reported that a substance called M8-B can cause the body to completely stop defending its normal temperature. This means that during hypothermia, no attempt will be made to keep the blood temperature at 37 ° C: a person can be easily cooled (not only outside, but also frozen through to the desired temperature) and put into a state of therapeutic hypothermia.
The currently used method of hypothermia requires intravenous administration of a cooling solution while simultaneously heating the outer skin (to deceive the sensory neurons of the skin). Maintaining the right balance of cold and warmth is not an easy task and cannot be done outside the hospital. Compare this to taking one tablet and soaking in a cold water bath.
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It is not surprising that the largest pharmaceutical companies are already interested in the new drug.