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Fever's glass ceiling

P A Mackowiak1, J A Boulant

  • 1Medical Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.

Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
|March 1, 1996
PubMed
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Human core body temperature rarely exceeds 41-42°C due to physiological limits during fever. Complex mechanisms involving thermoregulatory neurons and endogenous substances maintain this upper thermal boundary.

Area of Science:

  • Physiology
  • Thermoregulation
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • The upper limit of fever has been recognized since antiquity.
  • Human core temperature typically does not exceed 41-42°C during fever.
  • This thermal limit is crucial for physiological function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the physiological reasons for the upper limit of the febrile response.
  • To understand the complex mechanisms that maintain regulated body temperature during fever.

Main Methods:

  • Review of physiological data on fever and thermoregulation.
  • Analysis of the roles of thermoregulatory neurons.
  • Investigation of endogenous antipyretic substances and cytokine receptors.

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Main Results:

  • Human core temperature is tightly regulated and rarely surpasses 41-42°C.
  • Complex mechanisms contribute to maintaining this upper thermal limit.
  • These mechanisms include specialized neurons, endogenous antipyretics (e.g., arginine vasopressin, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone), and soluble cytokine receptors.

Conclusions:

  • The upper limit of fever is a critical physiological safeguard.
  • Multiple interacting systems, including neural and humoral factors, maintain this limit.
  • Understanding these mechanisms is key to comprehending fever regulation.