'Freezing cold water may protect against dementia'

Vixen

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Vixen
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This article appeared on the BBC News front page today. It claims to have identified a particular protein which is released in healthy persons, after being immersed in cold water, and which seems to protect against Alzheimers or other types of dementia in later years.

Cold water swimming may protect the brain from degenerative diseases like dementia, researchers from Cambridge University have discovered.

In a world first, a "cold-shock" protein has been found in the blood of regular winter swimmers at London's Parliament Hill Lido.

The protein has been shown to slow the onset of dementia and even repair some of the damage it causes in mice.

Prof Giovanna Mallucci, who runs the UK Dementia Research Institute's Centre at the University of Cambridge, says the discovery could point researchers towards new drug treatments which may help hold dementia at bay.

The research - although promising - is at an early stage, but it centres on the hibernation ability that all mammals retain, which is prompted by exposure to cold.
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The protein concerned has only been tested on mice so far, although its release in the bloodstream of healthy persons after a cold swim that lowers their inner core temperature to <35° C can be measured and shows a strong release of same.

Prof Mallucci believed a drug which prompted the production of RBM3 might help slow - and possibly even partially reverse - the progress of some neuro-degenerative diseases in people.

RBM3 had not been detected in human blood, so the obvious next step was to find out whether the protein is present in the human population.
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Knowing the feeling of invigoration after a cold swim or a freezing cold shower after a hot sauna, this interested me. Some kind of dementia runs in my family (however, only on the male maternal line [before you start nodding your head knowingly] having affected two uncles and a cousin in recent years). Not sure what type of dementia they had, as it is very common in Finland, and is believed by some scientists to be to do with some kind of organism in the forest biome, specific to this country, which has a lot of wetlands, swamps and bogs, although why this should be gender-specific may point to a genetic propensity towards it.
 
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All I can picture is cheap nursing homes using it as an excuse not to heat their water, and the resultant very vocal griping.
 
My mother the 82 year old World Champion triathlete will welcome this news. She does a lot of open water (lake) swimming, albeit with a wetsuit. The Colorado lakes stay pretty cold year round.


(totally not bragging about Mom ;))
 
Anyone who says they've had enough of that cold water would automatically qualify as not demented. If they stay in it until hypothermia then they are demented.

It's a pretty elegant and quick test. If you stay in the ice cube bath then you are crazy.
 
Round up a bunch of doddering seniors and tip them into a freezing cold pool and leave them bleating and flailing around in there?

Sounds ...fun? cruel? demented? cool? (Your pick of bad puns.)
 
Jungle Jim said:
How much cold water swimming would one have to do to be effective?
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It is a question of acclimatising oneself. Surely most people here have experienced swimming in cold water, even if only as a kid? After the initial shock and gasp, it is thoroughly enjoyable and you feel invigorated afterwards.

Likewise, with heat. In my parents old wood-burner sauna where there was no heat control, it would get over 100° very quickly and I invariably had a colossal headache afterwards. With my new sauna which is electric and thermostatically controlled, I gently started off at 80°C and stayed for just ten minutes before having a break and going back and finishing with a warm shower. A year later, I tune it to 100°C , have several breaks and finish with an icy cold shower. And do you know what, it is wonderful. If you have ever been out jogging or exercising in the gym, you know how horrible it is to have perspiration pouring off your forehead, chest, arms, feet and back and nothing better to stem the copious sweat than an ice cold shower that instantly puts a stop to it and makes you feel blissfully cool when you emerge. I am guessing that is the surge of the said protein the scientists are talking about.

So take it slowly and gently at first, maybe start in summer when a dip in a cold lake or sea isn't likely to cause discomfort.

Common sense is all.

Character building and also protecting your neurons from prions if the hypothesis is correct.
 
jrhowell said:
You soak in boiling water? :eye-poppi
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No, that is the sauna temperature. The salient point is, first you raise your inner core body temperature - this is like aerobics for the heart and circulatory system without having to lift a finger. Then when you come out you will still be perspiring - which, if you are prone to eczema, is frankly itchy and irritating - so the quickest way to stop perspiring is to bring your inner core body temperature down to icy cold levels and this causes your body to release feel-good proteins or hormones or whatever it is. If you were to just get in an icy cold bath that would just be so horrible. You would want the icy coldness to be something enjoyable, like swimming in a cold sea or lake on a nice hot sunny day. Even in winter, having a sauna and then rolling in the snow or jumping in an icy lake is invigorating but obviously I can't do that here.

Just a suggestion. It is not the first time cold water has been seen as therapeutic.
 
Vixen said:
Surely most people here have experienced swimming in cold water, even if only as a kid? After the initial shock and gasp, it is thoroughly enjoyable and you feel invigorated afterwards.
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Yes actually. Pretty much regularly, most mornings, winters included (unless it got too cold), in un-heated water, back when I was a kid. It used to be fun actually. Freeze, freeze, freeze, then SPLASH! then God-help-me-I'm-dying! then suddenly you're through, and all good and fun as long as you keep moving.

And I agree, it's good for the gray cells and for character-bulding. That's how I built up my bulging character and my rock hard IQ.
 
Vixen said:
It is a question of acclimatising oneself. Surely most people here have experienced swimming in cold water, even if only as a kid? After the initial shock and gasp, it is thoroughly enjoyable and you feel invigorated afterwards.

Likewise, with heat. In my parents old wood-burner sauna where there was no heat control, it would get over 100° very quickly and I invariably had a colossal headache afterwards. With my new sauna which is electric and thermostatically controlled, I gently started off at 80°C and stayed for just ten minutes before having a break and going back and finishing with a warm shower. A year later, I tune it to 100°C , have several breaks and finish with an icy cold shower. And do you know what, it is wonderful. If you have ever been out jogging or exercising in the gym, you know how horrible it is to have perspiration pouring off your forehead, chest, arms, feet and back and nothing better to stem the copious sweat than an ice cold shower that instantly puts a stop to it and makes you feel blissfully cool when you emerge. I am guessing that is the surge of the said protein the scientists are talking about.

So take it slowly and gently at first, maybe start in summer when a dip in a cold lake or sea isn't likely to cause discomfort.

Common sense is all.

Character building and also protecting your neurons from prions if the hypothesis is correct.
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Thanks for the response but you didn't address my question. I'd like to know how often, over what period of time would one have to partake of this therapy for it to become effective. For example, one hour, three time a week for the rest of my life? Would that work or is there another scope of treatment?
 
marting said:
Many are cold but few are frozen. Apologies to Matthew 22:14
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LOL!



Jokes apart -- and something like this kind of begs for jokes to be made, or at least attempted -- this research (that I've only read of in the OP's posts, not followed through with looking up myself) does seem interesting.

You needn't actually freeze the old dears to death to keep them from going senile. As with most other things, the what-have-you that's produced can be extracted and injected or tablet-swallowed, if found efficaceous in humans.

And healthy young people, sure: some cold water bathing can't hurt, or probably not. The character building aspect that OP raises has something to it I guess: as long as that mass of sinewy character isn't led from this into a tendency to over-generalize.
 
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Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Shrinkage.
 
How long do I have to stick my head in the freezer to be as smart as I vaguely remember I think I was?

Why don't I just settle for whatever ice cream I find, since I'm there?
 
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