Hibernate or hibernot

If the Land Rover advertising campaign is to be believed, us humans should not hibernate, as it is a waste of time during the cold winter months. Although, after reading new research published on the virtues of hibernation for neurodegenerative disorders, I believe this is an ill advised message. Who hasn't considered the concept of hibernation for humans? Just me? Ok, at first glance it doesn't seem a particularly attractive concept, going into a self induced 'coma-like' state during periods of low temperature, in a state of metabolic depression. Interestingly a process called  heterothermy occurs in hibernating mammals, during which they transition from being homeostatic endothermic to being ectothermic organisms, relying on their environment to regulate body heat, allowing for the slowing down of metabolic processes. The more you know right? But let's get back to the crux of this post: does hibernation actually have health benefits? Oh I'm so glad you asked. A UK team from the MRC Toxicology unit in Leicester have discovered the so called 'cold-shock chemicals' that cause mammals to destroy connections in their brains as they enter hibernation. Around 30% of synapses in the brain are destroyed, due to the slower metabolic rate during the winter. But what's truly amazing is that these culled synapses are reformed when the animal awakens in the spring! This obviously has huge implications for the medical profession, because the chemical released in the neural tissue as the animal begins to wake up and needs to repair synapses, RBM3, could be used to treat previously incurable conditions caused by prions, like Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans. By artificially boosting levels of RBM3 in the brain, researchers have found that neurone death due to the misfolding of proteins caused by prions can be significantly reduced, and so we are one step closer to a drug that specifically targets the deadly neurone destroying agents that are prions. Memories are even retained after hibernation, as only the impulse receiving end of the synapses are destroyed (this is pretty obvious if you think about it, as a survival mechanism that wipes the animal's memory clean would be quite detrimental to its survival chances), and there is therefore a strong chance the RBM3 could be tailored into a drug to treat Alzheimer's patients, to slow down or even stop neurone loss during the early stages of the disease. Unfortunately the human body is not adapted to hibernate, as we don't produce enough RBM3 naturally, but I would certainly hibernate if given the chance. You would miss the most depressing months of the year, and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders in later life. Stuff that in your gas-guzzling V8s Land Rover.