Hibernating animals might be the answer to aid in medical advances. Hibernating animals lower their core body temperature to near freezing. This also drops its heart rate dramatically.
Scientists are now figuring out how the cells of hibernating animals adapt to cold temperatures may help scientists extend the storage life of donated human organs that are awaiting transplantation, the researchers said in a new study.
One day this research could help improve induced hypothermia therapy. This is when a person's body temperature is lowered after a cardiac arrest or brain injury. This therapy can help protect the brain in such patients but could also have side effects from the cold- induced cellular damage.
One day this research could help improve induced hypothermia therapy. This is when a person's body temperature is lowered after a cardiac arrest or brain injury. This therapy can help protect the brain in such patients but could also have side effects from the cold- induced cellular damage.
Researchers found a ground squirrel that lives in central North America. This squirrel dramatically lowers its body temperature to just above freezing, and slows its heart from 200 beats per minute to only 20.
When studying this animal, researchers found a cellular structure called the "microtubule cytoskeleton" . This is a network of small tubes that provides structural support to a cell and is vulnerable to the cold. When they compared the ground squirrels cells to human cells, they found that the "microtubule cytoskeleton" remains intact during the cold in the squirrels but deteriorates in human cells.
https://www.livescience.com/62483-hibernating-squirrels-medicine.html
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