Medical research

Exercise in a pill may protect against extreme heat sensitivity

We've all seen the story in the news before. Whether it's the death of a physically fit high school athlete at football training camp in August, or of an elderly woman gardening in the middle of the day in July, heat stroke ...

Oncology & Cancer

Heat helps cancer drugs battle cancer

(PhysOrg.com) -- Localized hyperthermia has been used occasionally with cancer drugs for some time, but until now, the reason it helps has been a mystery. In a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ...

Medical research

Inducing accurately controlled 'fever' in tumors to fight cancer

Heating tumors can greatly enhance the effect of radio- and chemotherapies for cancer. This increases the chances of recovery and helps reduce the use of radiation and drugs, leading to fewer side effects for patients. An ...

Oncology & Cancer

Chemo plus hyperthermia active in advanced pancreatic cancer

(HealthDay)—For patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic carcinoma with malignant ascites, a combined systemic and intraperitoneal chemotherapy approach plus hyperthermia is well tolerated and active, according ...

Health

Risk of heat-related health problems increases with age

With summer here and the temperatures rising, it is important to understand the health risks that excessive heat can bring and know the signs of heat-related illnesses. Older adults and people with chronic medical conditions ...

page 1 from 3

Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation. Hyperthermia occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate. When the elevated body temperatures are sufficiently high, hyperthermia is a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment to prevent disability or death.

The most common causes are heat stroke and adverse reactions to drugs. Heat stroke is an acute condition of hyperthermia that is caused by prolonged exposure to excessive heat or heat and humidity. The heat-regulating mechanisms of the body eventually become overwhelmed and unable to effectively deal with the heat, causing the body temperature to climb uncontrollably. Hyperthermia is a relatively rare side effect of many drugs, particularly those that affect the central nervous system. Malignant hyperthermia is a rare complication of some types of general anesthesia.

Hyperthermia can be created artificially by drugs or medical devices. Hyperthermia therapy may be used to treat some kinds of cancer and other conditions, most commonly in conjunction with radiotherapy.

Hyperthermia differs from fever in the mechanism that causes the elevated body temperatures: a fever is caused by a change in the body's temperature set-point.

The opposite of hyperthermia is hypothermia, which occurs when an organism's temperature drops below that required for normal metabolism. Hypothermia is caused by prolonged exposure to low temperatures and is also a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA