Enhancing tolerance to cold exposure--how successful have we been?

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Environmental Medicine
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Accidental hypothermia is a significant risk at high latitudes, especially during cold water immersion.
• Current protection strategies focus on reducing heat loss through insulation.
• Alternative approaches aim to enhance the body's cold tolerance by modifying thermoregulatory responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the effectiveness of various strategies for improving human cold tolerance.
• To identify promising methods for delaying the onset of hypothermia.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on strategies to improve cold tolerance.
• Evaluation of thermal acclimation, physical exercise, dietary thermogenesis enhancement, pharmacological thermogenesis enhancement, and thermoregulatory set-point manipulation.

Main Results:

• None of the reviewed strategies have yielded universally adopted methods for routine use in improving cold tolerance.
• Pharmacological enhancement of cold thermogenesis demonstrated potential.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacological enhancement of cold thermogenesis, specifically using ephedrine combined with methylxanthine, is the most promising approach identified for delaying hypothermia.
• Further research into pharmacological interventions may lead to practical methods for cold exposure protection.