Can fever treat autism and cancer?
自闭症,癌症
z-bo
2020-09-21
347
Recently, according to foreign media reports, the immune response that causes fever may also activate the nervous system. Increased body temperature may help treat autism and cancer.
This father has a daughter with autism. Through observation for a period of time, he found that whenever her daughter has a fever, her communication with the outside world seems to be smoother, and some pathological crazy behaviors unique to autism seem to be By alleviation. So Simon initiated and established a foundation to study why this change occurred and whether it can be used as a way to treat autism in the future. In 2007, the team of epidemiologists at the Johns Hopkins-Bloomberg School of Public Health achieved initial results. They published research reports confirming that fever can relieve symptoms of autism.
makes us have a fever
It is reported that Marian Mailer, a Spanish researcher at the Rockefeller University Molecular Biology Laboratory, also participated in research projects funded by James Simon’s Foundation. She believes that “fever is a defense mechanism, which is a reflection of the immune system's activation when pathogens appear in the body. Therefore, we believe that the relationship between fever and behavioral changes reflects the fact that there is a relationship between the immune system and the nervous system. Correlation. Therefore, the immune system response process that causes fever may also stimulate or inhibit certain areas of the nervous system that are altered by autism. This is the reason for the temporary changes in sexual behavior in autistic patients."
Mailer also mentioned, “We also think that certain areas of the brain are responsible for responding to body temperature and are also connected to the brain areas responsible for regulating behaviors related to autism. Therefore, temporary activation of these areas may cause Changes in neuronal activity involving areas such as anxiety, social behavior, irritability, and language. At the same time, there may also be an epigenetic effect that causes genes related to certain neuronal activity to be activated or inhibited.”
reported that, regardless of the cause, it is clear that fever is beneficial to alleviating the symptoms of autism. Even one day in the future, fever can be used as a "prescription" to artificially keep autistic patients at a high body temperature.
High temperature anti-cancer
reported that the latest trend in cancer drug treatment is to use immunotherapy, that is, to take measures to activate the immune system to fight cancer cells. Ignacio Melero, an immunotherapy expert at the University of Navarre and the Center for Applied Medical Research in Spain, said, “When a tumor appears, it shows that it has the ability to tease the immune system. With the help of various methods of immunotherapy, the goal we pursue is training. The immune system works by telling it how to recognize and destroy cancer cells in an artificial way." Fever is part of the human immune system.
Melero believes that the treatment that uses fever as a lead is called hyperthermia, which is to warm up the body temperature of the patient under anesthesia to simulate a persistent high fever. However, this approach is risky, and an effective method has not yet been developed. If it can be combined with other more effective immunotherapies, perhaps it will be meaningful.
On the other hand, the medical profession has recently discovered that some chronic diseases, such as depression and anxiety, can cause the body temperature to rise.
Psychotherapy
reported that in 2014, scientists at Kyoto University identified neural circuits related to the increase in body temperature caused by depression. This neural circuit connects the dorsal medial nucleus of the hypothalamus and the raphe medulla nucleus. The researchers said: "Understanding this mechanism is very important for understanding the development of psychogenic fever and formulating treatment plans."
Carmen, a 51-year-old woman living alone, leads a relatively healthy life. But since a few months ago, she started to have frequent fever, and she came and went fast, and there were no more symptoms of physical weakness. After undergoing various examinations, the doctor diagnosed her as suffering from "psychogenic fever." The reason? Four months ago, her sister's family, who had lived very close to her, moved to a large house far away, and only came back to visit her every weekend. Now, she can only go to the small company that has been working for more than 20 years and continue to work as a secretary every day. After psychopharmaceutical treatment, Carmen’s fever disappeared.
reported that Carmen’s example does exist, and a more reasonable explanation can be found in medicine. Depression is nothing but a psychological process that occurs when we perceive threats around us or happen beyond our capabilities.
In this case, our body is ready to either deal with the danger or "flee". As a result, the breathing and heart rate will increase, and the body temperature will also increase. This is hyperthermia caused by depression. However, 95% of fever cases are simply the response of our body organs to pathogens.
Pediatric expert Hossus Martinez believes that “in the past, if the body feels uncomfortable and the body temperature rises, it will be considered as a reaction of the body’s organs to germs. Therefore, fever is regarded as an indication of the functioning of the body’s defense system. In the process of recovery. Until later, we began to use thermometers to measure body temperature, and fever became the main physical manifestation we saw."
Obsessed with body temperature
reported that in 2014, pediatric associations around the world reached an agreement to find ways to resist the morbid "fear" of fever, especially the opinion of most parents on fever.
The monthly issue of the American Journal of Pediatrics published a research report that warned of this general mentality. According to the report, most parents are overly worried about fever below 38 degrees Celsius. Many people are worried that an increase in the child's body temperature may have terrible consequences for the body. Even 52% of parents believe that if the fever reaches 40 degrees Celsius, the child may have a serious neurological disorder.
Martinez pointed out, "The responsibility is definitely ours. In fact, when parents take their children to the emergency department for medical treatment, they first see how to take their children's temperature. Therefore, the message we convey invisibly is that temperature is the first thing. Yes, the other symptoms are secondary."
However, the opposite is true. "When our body temperature rises, our body feels uncomfortable. In fact, the germs are the same. Therefore, our body raises the temperature so that the pathogens will not feel so comfortable when they attack us, and they can no longer continue to multiply. However, we, who always think that we are smarter than our body, use antipyretic drugs to lower our body temperature. This does not actually reduce the temperature. What we should do is relieve symptoms, such as headaches and dizziness.”
reported that since the British doctor Clifford Albert invented the first medical thermometer, this tool has become a symbol of modern medicine and has become the most common medical device necessary for every household.
However, Martinez pointed out, “The thermometer is only a tool for measuring body temperature, and body temperature often changes under the influence of the external environment and various variable factors, including the amount of clothes worn. Therefore, we must The focus is on symptoms, not body temperature."
Enhance immunity
According to the report, a research report published by the American Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases stated that the benefits of fever are very numerous. For example, newborns who have experienced a fever in the first year of life suffer from a fever at an early age than those who have not. The chance of allergies is greatly reduced. The medical community has formed a general view that early exposure to infection can protect the human body from allergies. However, Martinez also raised a special worrying possibility: “For 3-month newborns, their cranio-brain barrier is still very fragile. In this case, any infection may change. Sepsis or meningitis. This is a very serious matter. Therefore, parents of newborns must be vigilant against fevers above 38 degrees Celsius. Once the body temperature exceeds 38 degrees Celsius, they should go to the emergency department as soon as possible to fight the infection."
In 1660, British physician Thomas Sidham wrote: "Fever is a powerful engine that nature bestows on the world, and use it to conquer the enemy." However, what we know now is that Sidham Not only is it true, but in many cases, high body temperature can also be a powerful weapon, allowing us to effectively kill deadly enemies.
