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Updated: Dec 30, 2025

A Method of Trigonometric Modelling of Seasonal Variation Demonstrated with Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Data
Published on: December 9, 2015
What can seasonal models teach us about energy balance?
Victoria Diedrich1, Elena Haugg1, Carola Dreier1
1Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Abstract:
Torpid states are used by many endotherms to save energy during winter. During torpor, metabolic rate is downregulated to fractions of resting metabolic rate and often associated with a severe drop in body temperature that challenges mammalian physiology. Understanding the mechanisms regulating this extreme depression of metabolism bears enormous potential for biomedical research. Torpor behavior has been extensively studied in the Djungarian hamster, also known as Siberian hamster. It is dependent on many preparatory adaptations of physiological and endocrine systems that are likely to be integrated by the hypothalamus eventually controlling metabolism. Although substantial knowledge exists about prerequisites and characteristics of torpor in this species, the cascade of events and their mechanisms of action are not well understood. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about mechanisms of metabolic regulation in the Djungarian hamster focusing on the potential roles of thyroid hormone and glucose metabolism.
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