The medicines to treat various chronic diseases can hinder the body’s ability to lose heat and regulate your core temperature at optimal levels, according to a review by a team of scientists from several institutions in Singapore.
The loss of effective thermoregulation has implications for the seniors who receive treatment for diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and diabetes, especially when it is hot.
The group of researchers, whose work was published in the scientific journal Pharmacological Reviews, identified and reviewed relevant research papers through keyword searches in databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar. These works studied the associations and effects of medications in the thermoregulation.
The results, according to Europa Pressshow that medications used to treat common chronic diseases, such as blood thinners, blood pressure drugs, heart disease medications, Parkinson’s either Alzheimer’s and some chemotherapy drugs, can make it difficult for the human body to withstand hot weather by reducing its ability to sweat or increasing blood flow to the skin.
‘Rising global temperatures caused by climate change pose a significant health concern for clinical patients who rely on long-term medication and healthcare. We will increasingly see older patients, many with multiple conditions, taking different types of medication at the same time to treat their chronic illnesses, exacerbating the risk of heat-related illnesses and dehydration. “Understanding how each medication affects thermoregulation in warmer environments is the crucial first step in predicting potential health outcomes when taking multiple medications concurrently,” he commented. Jericho Weemain author of the work.
Exercise and improved fitness reduce the frequency of hot flashes and improve thermoregulatory responses
Patients taking certain anticancer medications have reported hot flashes symptomssuch as inappropriate sweat responses and an increase in core temperature that affects quality of life.
Benefits of exercise
Exercise and improved fitness have been shown to reduce the frequency of hot flashes and improve thermoregulatory responses in other chronic diseases such as diabetes, and remain a crucial component in maintaining nervous and cardiovascular functions in cancer patients. .
However, the deficiencies and bodily limitations caused by chemotherapy and medication They can limit your ability to exercise, perpetuating a cycle of loss of exercise capacity that is crucial to your recovery.
Cardiovascular diseases
Regarding patients with cardiovascular diseasessuch as coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure, are more vulnerable to exposure to high temperatures, as your heart will work harder to deliver blood to your skin and working muscles, in order to keep your core temperature at a normal level. optimal and, at the same time, maintain work performance.
Antiplatelet agents, such as aspirin and the clopidogrel, are usually taken to prevent the formation of clots in the blood vessels, which could cause a stroke or heart disease. However, these antiplatelet agents can increase core temperatureboth at rest and during exercise.
These medications also reduce skin blood flow and they suppress sweat responses, meaning that thermoregulatory responses would be less sensitive to accumulated heat and would take time to cool down, which could lead to heat stroke.
Used for multiple cardiovascular conditions, such as ischemic heart disease, high blood pressure, and heart failure, beta blockers may reduce cutaneous blood flow during heat stress by lowering blood pressure and facilitating further constriction of cutaneous blood vessels.
However, the results on the effects of beta blockers on response to sweat remain contradictory: Some studies show no change in sweating, while others show a reduction in sweating. Therefore, further research efforts are needed to understand how different types of beta blockers may affect sweating.
Some studies have highlighted that the type of beta blocker is an additional consideration. For example, non-selective beta-blockers, such as propranolol, which are widely prescribed in the population, may cause greater alterations in sweating than non-selective beta-blockers.
The role of insulin
It has been shown that the insulinwhich is usually used to reduce the hyperglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes, affects the body’s ability to adequately regulate heat. It also increases metabolic heat production at rest and during exercise, which can be fatal to the body when the accumulated heat cannot be dissipated quickly.
In the case of patients with type 2 diabetes who take metformin to control their disease, nearly 30 percent of patients experience diarrhea and nausea when first prescribed the drug.
If fluid loss cannot be replaced sufficiently, patients, especially the elderly, run a greater risk. risk of dehydrationwhich can lead to increased cardiovascular strain during exertional heat stress.
Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
Due to an internal imbalance in the levels of dopamine and acetylcholinepatients with neuropsychiatric diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s experience thermoregulatory dysfunction when their body is unable to control its temperature.
However, it is known that medications to treat these neurological conditions alter brain control of thermoregulation and thermoregulatory responses, such as sweating and cutaneous vasodilation, which could lead to both hyperthermia and hypothermia.
Anticholinergics and cholinesterase inhibitors are prescribed to improve cerebral motor and cognitive symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
However, these agents also alter dopamine and acetylcholine levels, likely inducing changes in the central thermoregulatory drive that impairs central processing and integration of thermal information and dulls instinctive responses to thermal stress, while simultaneously raising core temperature. of the body. This could increase the risk of developing heat-related illnesses.
Dopamine replacement agents and dopamine agonists are often prescribed to Parkinson’s sufferers to increase dopamine levels and help with movement and coordination.
Although highly effective, these agents have been found to significantly influence thermoregulation and alter the sweat response, which is crucial for heat dissipation. It is important that the dosage of these agents be adjusted appropriately to minimize the occurrence of serious side effects.