As people age, they tend to get sick more easily, and their body temperature often decreases.
Now, a study from Japan has shown that having a higher body temperature might help the body fight off viruses better.
A team from Japan did an experiment using mice.
They exposed some mice to cold temperatures, some to normal temperatures, and others to higher heat. After this, they gave the mice the flu virus.
The results were clear:
- Mice in the cold got really sick and many died.
- Mice in the heat, with body temperatures above 38°C (100.4°F), did much better. They resisted the virus even when given larger amounts of it.
Dr. Takeshi Ichinohe from The University of Tokyo explained that these heat-exposed mice made more bile acids because of their gut microbes. These acids seemed to help the mice fight off the virus.
They thought that a specific acid, called deoxycholic acid (DCA), from the gut, and a certain receptor on cells helped the mice resist the flu.
This combination reduced the virus’s ability to multiply and caused less damage to the mice’s tissues.
The team then tried the same thing with the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes COVID-19) and got similar results. Higher body temperatures above 38°C seemed to help resist both the flu and SARS-CoV-2.
When the researchers looked at people with COVID-19, they found something interesting. People with a milder illness had more of certain bile acids in their blood compared to those with more severe illnesses.
Dr. Ichinohe said that understanding this could help doctors find new ways to treat or even prevent COVID-19.
Higher body temperature seems to help the body fight off certain viruses, including the flu and SARS-CoV-2.
The warmth affects the gut microbes, leading to changes in bile acids which might be key in resisting these viruses. This finding could be important for future treatments.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and scientists find how COVID-19 damages the heart.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about Aspirin linked to a higher risk of heart failure, and results showing this drug could reduce heart disease, fatty liver, and obesity.
The study was published in Nature Communications.
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