How Cold Weather Weakens Your Immune System: Harvard Study Reveals Findings

The reason is that the cold makes us sick. Why do more people get sick in winter? Study provides evidence of the cold and a weak immune system They are connected. Cough, runny nose, sore throat: Cold is much more common in the cold season than in spring or summer. It is well known that the incidence of respiratory diseases is subject to seasonal changes. If so can cause the cold cold there were controversial theory in science. And A US study provides evidence which supports the following interesting hypothesis. We will find out the results of the study in the article. (Continue reading after the picture)

The reason is that the cold makes us sick

The first contact through the nasal mucosa is crucial. The general term cold usually refers to it respiratory tract infection caused by a virus. up to 200 different viruses can cause the common cold. Viruses are spread through infection with to fall, ie through sneezing and coughing, or through close contact with infected people. By the mouth, the nose is the first point of entry for viruses and bacteria. If the pathogens are inhaled or enter the nose directly, for example through the hands, they can it adheres to the mucosa there. They develop in the nasal mucosato a series of defense mechanisms for protection. Cold alone cannot make us cold! It always isanother pathogen is required. But, cold can play an important role in whether or not an infection occurs. What is crucial is their effect on the immune system, respectively line.

The study from Harvard Medical School in Boston, published in the magazine “Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology“, he studied how the defense is the immune system of the nasal mucosa is affected by the cold. Scientists focused on the so-called extracellular vesicles (EV). They are part of the local immune system responsible for protecting against bacteria and viruses in the nasal mucosa. Viruses cause large outbreaks of blisters. That was the opinion of the scientists cold prevents the bleeding process. To find out, they first looked at how the temperature in the nose changes when it is cold. The result: at a winter temperature of about 4 ° C, the temperature in the nose drop from 37°C to 32°C in 15 minutes. The researchers then studied how cells in the human nasal mucosa responded to three different viral infections: coronavirus which causes common cold and two rhinoviruses different. They analyzed vesicle formation at a lower temperature of 32°C and at a normal body temperature of 37°C.
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Proven result: Under normal conditions, infection with pathogens leads to the formation of a large number of extracellular vesicles in the nasal mucosa. The vesicles attach to the viruses, killing them and thus preventing direct contact with the nasal mucosa. The bottom line? Cold affects the local immune system, and the immune system was less resistant to viral infections. Why? As more EVs are produced, the more likely it is that the viruses can attach to the nasal mucosa. Therefore, Nasal EVs can prevent respiratory viral infections, but they are affected by cold stimuli. Then, remember that a blood circulation worse in the cold and they are often dry ie they can’t perform their protective function either. Therefore, the authors of the study believe that it is necessary to investigate more like the defense mechanisms in the nose can be kept at a low temperature.
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