Lessons Learned From Hibernation

 

Did you know that the average black bear hibernates for 5-7 months out of the year? Did you also know that while they are sleeping these bears are helping scientists learn more about the potential rehabilitative uses for the effects of hibernation? Its true. Scientists are monitoring black bears in Fairbanks, Alaska to assess their breathing rates, movement, heart rates, and oxygen & carbon dioxide intake during hibernation.

This research is being conducted by Oivind Toien at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Toien is hoping to study black bears habits so as to possibly implement them in the treatment of human tissues after trauma or after long periods of inactivity due to injury recovery. Because of its potential healing benefits, the U.S. Military is partly funding the research to improve injury recovery in veterans.

For this study 5 black bears were relocated to artificial habitats near Fairbanks for observation. Researchers observed several interesting characteristics during the bears' hibernation. For example, bears maintain a relatively high body temperature during hibernation, but their metabolism is decreased by 75%. Also, the bears heart rate dropped significantly from 55 beats per minute in the summer to about 9 during hibernation. The bears' breathing rate also dropped substantially too to about 1 breath per minute.

Scientist Gerhard Heldmaier int he Department of Animal Physiology at the University of Phillips University-Marburg in Germany, attributed the extreme drop in metabolic rates to decreased ATP which is responsible for energy transfer within cells.

By studying the genetic pathways that allow bears to slow their metabolism during long periods of no activity, researchers may be able to apply the same logic to trauma and bed bound patients to decrease muscle atropy. If like, a bear in hibernation, the human body can be tricked into slowing its activities during long periods of rest, it would help to decrease the wear and tear caused on the body by such long periods of rest.

In the future this same technology could be used to treat osteoporosis and other diseases by putting patients into states of suspended or reduced animation until advanced medical care is available. In a sense, putting patients into hibernation until they can be treated effectively and successfully.

For right now though, the focus is on improving recovery in veterans and trauma patients and in general decreasing the muscle atrophy that is such a common effect of both.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=hibernating-black-bears-suggest-new-2011-02-17&sc=emailfriend