What's Cooler Than Being Cool?

If you like tropical temperatures or beaches, you may want to skip this blog post. Believe it or not, this is not a new concept; there has been some research done in the past that has explored that idea. Of course, the impact of colder temperatures on aging and longevity has not been viewed on mammals and especially not humans. It was worms, in case you were wondering.

We've mentioned in previous posts the reason that "lesser" organisms such as worms, insects, mice, and rats are the first creatures to be experimented on. If you have forgotten or do not want to look for the prior articles the answer is simple: paperwork. The less close to a human or a pet an experimental subject is the less paperwork there is involved in getting permission to conduct said experiment.

So, this new study looks at something other than worms right? If that was your guess you would still be wrong. Scientists from a University in Germany have discovered that coldness drives a process in which damaged proteins are removed from cells in worms. What they came to find was that extremely low temperatures damaged the organism, which should come as no surprise-very few creatures are able to survive extremely low temperatures. Hence, when we thaw out a wooly mammoth vs a parasite or "bug" from an iceberg, the expectation is usually that the creature won't start moving. In recent news we have seen that that is not always true as there have been some cases of thawed worms moving, but never have we seen a thawed mammal move as if it was brought back from the brink of death after being frozen.

Despite not seeing improvements in extremely low temperatures, there was some benefit observed when the worms were exposed to lower than usual temperatures within "survivable range" (also known as a moderate decrease in temperature). So, the effects of cooler temperatures were tested on the Caenorhabditis elegans worm and cultivated human cells. The scientists' findings were that the colder temperatures led to the removal of protein clumps that accumulate in animal and cell models of ALS and Huntington's disease. Basically, a structure in the cells known as proteasomes are activated when the cells are exposed to a moderate temperature drop. The proteasomes clean up potentially dangerous protein accumulation within the cells when triggered to do so.

Does this mean that we are on track to start cold therapy in humans to help treat the previously mentioned diseases? No. As previously stated, it takes a lot of time, proof, and paperwork for a therapy or medicine (usually, obviously there are some exceptions) to be approved in humans. That does not mean that this type of cold therapy cannot be approved in other animal species to treat other neurology related diseases. In fact, it would be good to see this type of therapy arise in other mammals to prove its efficiency in treatment. Is it likely we will eventually see cold therapy used to help treat disease in the future? More than likely at some point in the future. Especially as trends on social media become more and more accepting of cold therapy. Don't believe us? Check out how many influencers now have electronic ice baths or how many are experimenting with cold exposure via an ice chest. We don't recommend trying these trends without a medical professional's opinion first, but we do not doubt that there is likely some health benefit to cold exposure. Maybe this is a sign to take a vacation to a ski resort or cold destination.

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