Exposure to Heat
Conditions
Keywords
acclimation, heat, cytokines, stress, inflammation
Brief summary
There is growing evidence to conclude that part of the cascade leading to heatstroke is related to an inflammatory reaction triggered by the heat stress. The reduced ability to sustain heat stress - heat intolerance is also attributed to over-expression of inflammatory cytokines. Acclimation to heat improves human sustainability to heat and is a leading protective factor against heat stroke. The investigators hypothesize that the lower stress encountered during the process of acclimation to heat will be reflected by an over-ride in the expression of anti-inflammatory over the pro-inflammatory cytokines. This, in turn will attenuate the pathological cascade leading to heat stroke.
Interventions
OTHERexposure to heat
Dressed in shorts and tennis shoes the subjects will be exposed to exercise-heat stress for 12 consecutive days (excluding Saturday). Daily exposure will last 120 min, under the controlled environmental conditions of 40oC and 40% relative humidity. The exercise will consist of walking on a treadmill at a pace of 5km/h and 2% incline.
Sponsors
Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force
Prof. Yoram Epstein
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* age:18-25 * medically screened (healthy)
Exclusion criteria
* BMI over 22 kg/m2 * systolic blood pressure over 120 mmHg * any febrile illness during the last week preceding the study * any skin disease * diabetes * any heart conditions.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Investigating the variability in the levels of different cytokine and the kinetics in cytokine levels during the process of acclimation to heat. | 12 days |
Countries
Israel
Outcome results
None listed