Rhonda Patrick discusses sauna use associated with lowering risk for dementia and heart disease
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Sauna use is associated with reduced risk of many diseases, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. One mechanism that drives this reduced risk is likely heat shock proteins, a class of proteins produced by cells in response to stressful conditions such as heat exposure. These proteins protect cellular components from normal byproducts of metabolism and prevent aggregation of damaged proteins. In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes the role that heat shock proteins play in reducing the risk of disease.
Rhonda: So the all-cause mortality is also interesting because your study showed that, again, there was a dose-dependent effect where men that used the sauna two to three times a week had a 24% lower all-cause mortality than men using it one time a week. And I believe it was men using it four to seven times a week was a 40% lower all-cause mortality?
Jari: Yeah, it was...yeah, yeah. We're calling those dose-response relation.
Rhonda: Right, yeah. So you're getting ready to publish...a paper was accepted that you're going to publish, which will probably be published by the time this video is published, so that's really exciting. So you found that sauna use is associated with lower Alzheimer's disease and dementia. That is extremely interesting to me because, you know, of my interest in heat shock proteins. So the sauna, one of the most robust molecular mechanisms, you know, that happens upon heat stress. So when you heat-stress the body, what happens is that you activate a signaling pathway called heat shock proteins. They play a very important role in maintaining the three-dimensional structure of a protein, which is important, obviously, for protein's function, but it's also very important for the half-life of the protein.
And when the three-dimensional structure of a protein becomes misfolded because of damage that's occurring, you know, damage that, damage their DNA, the same damage that does that damages these proteins, you know, by-products of normal metabolism. Reactive oxygen species, by-products of, you know, immune activation, these things are damaging our proteins, our DNA, our cells. But heat shock...so when those proteins become damaged, they misfold, and they don't get degraded properly. So when this happens in the brain, you know, proteins can start to then aggregate and form these plaques, protein aggregates and plaques. So probably the most well-known one is amyloid-beta 42, which is associated with Alzheimer's disease. But interestingly, heat shock proteins, what their function is inside of the cell is to actually repair a misfolded protein so that it maintains its proper three-dimensional structure again.
So they're basically preventing the protein aggregation, and this has been shown in multiple studies in rodents, in lower organisms. There's been many, many studies, associated studies looking at heat shock proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. So there is a lot of interest in how heat shock proteins may be a therapeutic target for preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and also Parkinson's disease. And I've always thought, you know, the connection between knowing the sauna activates heat shock proteins, I mean, that's their name, you know? They're activated under conditions of stress, particularly heat stress. So I think that would be a very interesting thing to look at.
Jari: I think there some interesting findings, some acute changes after sauna use.
Rhonda: After just a single session?
Jari: Yeah, single session, in vessel and vessel function.
Rhonda: Oh, wow.
Jari: And also heart rate. There is a gradual increase in heart rate during the sauna, single sauna session.
Rhonda: Yeah, I've noticed that myself.
Jari: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The death rate from all causes of death for a population in a given time period.
A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory loss, spatial disorientation, cognitive dysfunction, and behavioral changes. The pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease include amyloid-beta plaques, tau tangles, and reduced brain glucose uptake. Most cases of Alzheimer's disease do not run in families and are described as "sporadic." The primary risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease is aging, with prevalence roughly doubling every five years after age 65. Roughly one-third of people aged 85 and older have Alzheimer's. The major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's is a variant in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene called APOE4.
A toxic 42 amino acid peptide that aggregates and forms plaques in the brain with age. Amyloid-beta is associated with Alzheimer's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that can occur in middle or old age and is the most common cause of dementia. Heat shock proteins have been shown to inhibit the early aggregation of amyloid beta 42 and reduce amyloid beta plaque toxicity [1].
A general term referring to cognitive decline that interferes with normal daily living. Dementia commonly occurs in older age and is characterized by progressive loss of memory, executive function, and reasoning. Approximately 70 percent of all dementia cases are due to Alzheimer’s disease.
A family of proteins produced by cells in response to exposure to stressful conditions. Heat shock proteins are expressed in response to heat as well as exposure to cold and UV light, and during wound healing and tissue remodeling. Many heat shock proteins function as chaperones by stabilizing new proteins to ensure correct folding or by helping to refold proteins that were damaged by cell stress. A 30-minute 73ºC sauna session in healthy young adults has been shown to cause a robust and sustained increase in the production of heat shock proteins for up to 48 hours afterward.[1]
An essential mineral present in many foods. Iron participates in many physiological functions and is a critical component of hemoglobin. Iron deficiency can cause anemia, fatigue, shortness of breath, and heart arrhythmias.
The thousands of biochemical processes that run all of the various cellular processes that produce energy. Since energy generation is so fundamental to all other processes, in some cases the word metabolism may refer more broadly to the sum of all chemical reactions in the cell.
A chemical that causes Parkinson's disease-like symptoms. MPTP undergoes enzymatic modification in the brain to form MPP+, a neurotoxic compound that interrupts the electron transport system of dopaminergic neurons. MPTP is chemically related to rotenone and paraquat, pesticides that can produce parkinsonian features in animals.
A broad range of disorders caused by the progressive death of neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Common neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Although treatments are available for some neurodegenerative diseases, there are currently no cures.
A neurodegenerative disorder that affects the central nervous system. Parkinson’s disease is caused by destruction of nerve cells in the part of the brain called the substantia nigra. It typically manifests later in life and is characterized by tremors and a shuffling gait.
Overtime proteins unintentionally accumulate damage from reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. These compromised proteins aggregate together and can promote aging as well as progressive diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
The highest level of intake of a given nutrient likely to pose no adverse health effects for nearly all healthy people. As intake increases above the upper intake level, the risk of adverse effects increases.
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