Cold can prolong life and promote healthy aging, study shows. The findings might help to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
A reduced body temperature can help prolong life. This has already been shown by several studies on various organisms, including cold-blooded animals such as fish and flies, but also on mammals.
For example, it has been observed in nematodes that a body temperature lowered from the normal 20 to a cool 15 degrees Celsius significantly extends their lifespan. The same applies to mice, in which a body temperature reduction of 0.5 degrees Celsius had a clear effect. Studies have also shown the effect of a lower body temperature on aging in humans.
Fatal loss of nerve cells
The mechanism behind this was previously unclear. A team of researchers from the University of Cologne is now providing a possible explanation.
On the one hand, they examined the nematode called Caenorhabditis elegans and, on the other hand, cultivated human cells. Both carried the genetic material for two neurodegenerative diseases – diseases of the nervous system that are caused by the progressive loss of nerve cells: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington’s disease.
These diseases typically develop with age. Harmful accumulations of protein deposits, the so-called pathological protein aggregations, are prominent.
Same results for worms and human cells
However, in their study published in the journal “Nature Aging”, the Cologne researchers describe that the proteins that tend to clump together were eliminated by a cellular mechanism when the temperature dropped slightly – both in the nematode and in human cells. This prevented the accumulation of protein deposits typical of ALS and Huntington’s disease.
The average human body temperature
In humans, the normal body temperature is subject to certain fluctuations. While it is slightly higher at up to 37 degrees Celsius during the day, it can drop to 36 degrees Celsius during sleep. A study published in 2020 in the journal “eLife” was also able to show that the average human body temperature has dropped by around 0.6 degrees Celsius, i.e. significantly, since the industrial revolution. The authors of the study led by researcher Myroslava Protsiv from Stanford University School of Medicine suspect advances in hygiene and the fight once morest infectious diseases to be one of the causes.
The analysis thus suggests that a slightly lower body temperature can prolong life. The scientists involved hope that promising new approaches can be developed from the findings to treat age-related diseases.
Aging is considered the greatest risk factor for various diseases of the nervous system, in which clumping of proteins occurs. In addition to Huntington’s and ALS, these also include Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
