Lower Body Temperature = Longer Life?
Researchers at San Diego’s Scripps Research Institute recently published a study that found mice that were genetically altered to have a reduced core body temperature had a significantly greater average lifespan (12% in males, 20% in females) than non-altered mice.
In the past, other studies have noted that:
- Body temperature and aging are related in cold-blooded animals.
- Calorie-restriction (CR) can increase lifespan in warm-blooded animals and also results in a lowered body temperature.
However, this was the first study to find that a sustained decrease in core body temperature could increase lifespan in warm-blooded animals independently of calorie-restriction or an altered diet.
Prior to the current study, critical questions about the relation between calorie restriction, core body temperature, and lifespan remained unanswered. Was calorie restriction itself responsible for longer lifespan, with reduced body temperature simply a consequence? Or was the reduction of core body temperature a key contributor to the beneficial effects of calorie restriction?
To find out, the researchers genetically altered the mice to over-express a protein in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for regulating body temperature. This protein change increased the hypothalamus temperature, which, in turn, resulted in a decrease in body temperature of approximately 0.5 to 1.0 degree farenheit.
The altered mice had normal ability to generate fever and were just as active as the other mice. Most importantly, the altered mice were allowed to eat as much food as they wanted, and ate about the same as the control mice. They also weighed about 10 percent more than the control mice (less energy required to maintain the lower body temperature).
The exact mechanisms as to how the decrease in body temperature may lengthen life remain to be discovered (Hormonal effects? Reduced oxidative stress?), but this finding is certainly an interesting and important one. The results reinforce just how important those small structures at the base of your brain, like the hypothalamus, are to your overall health. Small changes in function can make big differences.
