It results in a range of incapacitating symptoms that differ from one person to another such as
Energy Transfer
The study team developed an idea based on “Life History Theory” – evolutionary biology that was first proposed in the 1950s. It postulates that when the environment is favorable, the resources used by any organism are devoted to growth and reproduction.
Conversely, in a hostile environment, resources are transferred to so-called maintenance programmes, such as energy conservation and defence against external attacks.
Applying the above statement to the erroneous activation of the immune system that causes autoimmune diseases, may help provide evidence on deciphering MS treatment.
Immune System and Cold
The team studied the mice model of multiple sclerosis, to decipher how exposure to cold pushed the organism to divert its resources from the immune system towards maintaining body heat.
The immune system ultimately decreased its harmful activity during cold, which considerably attenuated the course of the autoimmune disease. These data pave the way for a fundamental biological concept on the allocation of energy resources.
“While the concept of prioritising the thermogenic over the immune response is evidently protective against autoimmunity, it is worth noting that cold exposure increases susceptibility to certain infections. Thus, our work could be relevant not only for neuroinflammation, but also other immune-mediated or infectious diseases, which warrants further investigation”, says Mirko Trajkovski, professor in the Department of Cellular Physiology and Metabolism and the Diabetes Centre at the Faculty of Medicine of the UNIGE, and lead author of the study.
Source: Medindia
