Cold Water May Be an Effective Defense Against Dementia

A study of the blood profiles of regular winter-time swimmers in London has identified a protein — RBM3 — that slows the onset of dementia in mice, and even reverses damage, reports the New York Post . In a 2015 study published in Nature , the researchers detailed the discovery of "cold-shock chemicals" during animal studies on healthy mice, mice with Alzheimer's, and others with prion disease. Healthy mice subjected to temperatures below 35 degrees Celsius and then gradually rewarmed had elevated RBM3 levels, and also exhibited repaired neurons that were damaged by the initial shock. This effect was not repeated in mice with Alzheimer's and prion — but by artificially boosting RBM3 levels in the ailing mice, then repeating the cold-shock process, the protein appeared to prevent susceptible synapses from breaking. In the latest study, many winter-time swimmers, recovering from core temperatures as low as 34 degrees Celsius, had significantly high RBM3 levels compared with controls who practiced tai chi near the swimming pool. The team hopes to apply these findings to devise a safe, artificial method for increasing RBM3.