Vasoconstriction

• Thankfully, with the right preventative and protective measures, the human body can survive these icy temperatures.
• Here’s what you need to know about identifying and treating the most common cold injury: frostbite.
• However, despite our bodies’ inherent temperature controls, without the right protection, we might still be vulnerable to cold weather injuries.

• For frostbite to occur, exposed body parts need to be subjected to a temperature that is below minus 0.55°C.
• At this temperature it will take several hours for exposed skin to become frostbitten.
• For example, temperatures in the -20s can cause frostbite on exposed skin in under 30 minutes.

Who does it affect?

• However, with the global population beginning to live in harsher environments and an increase in winter and snow sports, this is likely to increase in the general population.
• Reduced ability to sense the cold also increases the frostbite vulnerability of those who’ve had a stroke or have peripheral nerve damage.
• The consumption of alcohol also reduces blood pressure, which may also reduce the amount of blood pumped to extremities.

Symptoms

• Preserving the core body temperature is key to keeping the brain, heart, kidneys and lungs functioning and preventing hypothermia.
• This cooling brings about tingling and numbness of the exposed areas, and skin flushes red or white as the body frantically tries to rewarm itself.
• This initial stage is known as frostnip, and, although uncomfortable, leaves no permanent damage to tissues.

Treatment and prevention

• For frostbite, immediate medical treatment should be sought – sadly the pain of recovery is often far worse than the injury.
• Rewarming is the process of bringing the affected parts back to functioning body temperature.
• However, where ice crystals have damaged tissue, blisters are common and the nerves become hypersensitive, causing excruciating pain.

Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• GUILFORD, Conn., Aug. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AI Therapeutics, Inc. , a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for rare diseases, announced today the initiation of a Phase 2 study for its novel inhaled form of sirolimus, LAM-001, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
• PAH is a rapidly progressive cardiopulmonary disease that affects an estimated 30,000 patients in the United States with a five-year survival rate of approximately 57%.
• Systemic toxicities have heretofore precluded the widespread adoption of oral sirolimus in certain promising indications despite strong signals of clinical benefit.
• PAH represents one such orphan pulmonary disorder,” said Dr. Brigette Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of AI Therapeutics.

• Dompé farmaceutici announced today new peer-reviewed data demonstrating that small changes in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S)-protein sequence can eliminate its effect in inducing coagulation1.
• This work builds on other recent studies3,4 showing that coagulopathy is clearly associated with the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein with the human Erα.
• Our data also unravel a new function of the viral protein in direct regulation of thrombosis associated factors.
• We are excited to identify a path toward further refinement strategies to enable even more powerful benefits through future vaccination and booster initiatives”.

• One abstract about angiotensin II has been accepted for a presentation.
• In addition, PAION has organised a Sponsored Symposium.
• Poster number P219
  This post hoc analysis helps to understand which group of patients might be further studied to determine benefits from treatment with angiotensin II.
• Angiotensin II mimics the body’s endogenous angiotensin II peptide, which is central to the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which in turn regulates blood pressure.