How cold slows down aging: a study by German scientists

Scientists from the CECAD Center of Excellence in Aging Research at the University of Cologne have reported the discovery of a mechanism that helps healthy aging. It is known that cold activates the mechanism of cellular purification, which destroys harmful protein accumulations responsible for various diseases associated with aging. Studies conducted in recent years have shown that with a decrease in body temperature, life expectancy increases significantly. An article by German scientists in the journal Nature Aging showed how this happens, according to Medicalexpress. Scientists studied the organism of the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and cultured human cells.

Both samples contained genes for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington's disease, neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of harmful protein deposits and usually occur in old age. The scientists investigated the effect of cold on the activity of proteasomes, a cellular mechanism that removes damaged proteins from cells. It turned out that with a moderate decrease in temperature, both in the body of the nematode and in human cells, there is an active removal of protein clots that are associated with both diseases.

"The results show how, during evolution, cold retained its influence on the regulation of proteasomes – with therapeutic consequences for aging and aging–related diseases", - the authors of the study say. In their opinion, these findings can be applied to other animal species and other diseases – Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Extremely low temperatures can be harmful, but it has long been known that a moderate decrease in body temperature can have positive consequences. Moreover, lowering the body temperature prolongs the life of not only cold-blooded animals that depend on the ambient temperature: worms, flies, fish, but also mammals, whose body temperature is always maintained in a narrow range. For example, in mice, a decrease in body temperature by only 0.5 degrees significantly prolongs life expectancy.

Humans also have a correlation between body temperature and life expectancy. The normal temperature of the human body is from 36.5 to 37 degrees Celsius. A sharp drop in body temperature below 35 degrees leads to hypothermia, but during the day the temperature fluctuates slightly, and in a dream it drops to 36 degrees. In one of the previous studies, it was found that since the industrial revolution, the temperature of the human body has decreased by 0.03 degrees per decade. This may be due to the fact that in the last 10 years the duration of human life has gradually increased.