Deep body temperature was measured in four wethers and four ewes surgically implanted with biotelemetry devices. Records were taken over several days in the home pen (baseline data) and also in response to three potentially stressful procedures: transport, exposure to a sheepdog, and forced exercise. Loading the animals into a vehicle and transporting them for 2.5h produced a rise in core temperature that, in males, persisted for several hours. Moving the sheep into an outside pen and subsequent exposure to the dog appeared to produce transient increases in body temperature, although these changes were not statistically significant. By contrast, exercise for 30min resulted in a rapid and pronounced (approximately 2°C) temperature rise that was followed by an equally abrupt return to baseline. Sustained increases in deep body temperature or changes in circadian temperature rhythms in healthy sheep may be a response to psychological distress and, therefore, indicative of poor welfare.

The authors describe the cases of three patients presenting a major extrapyramidal symptom with rising CPK, inconstant hyperthermia and autonomic dysfunction. Through a brief review of the literature, the authors question the unity of the malignant syndrome. If hypertonia is quite constant, the rise in the seric CPK is aspecific and hyperthermia is inconstant.

Hyperthermia (i.e. heating of tumor tissue to 40–43°C) is used in clinical oncology to enhance the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Many tumor sites are heated either by a single RF or MW antenna positioned on the tumor location, or by a phased array positioned around the patient. Superficial tumors are generally heated with MW antennas (434–2450 MHz) and deep-seated tumors with RF antennas (70–150 MHz). These devices cover the major, more common tumor sites, but more rare locations require more dedicated applicators. We discuss dedicated RF systems aiming for heating semi-deep-seated tumors in the leg, breast, and upper thorax. Clinical results show that adequate heating is possible with these systems, with achieved temperatures in the therapeutic range.

Immersion of patients in a body bag filled with ice and water is recommended as prehospital management of severe hyperthermia. Experienced paramedics have raised a number of concerns about the use of this technique; particularly, whether cardiac monitoring equipment would remain functional once immersed. This test showed that monitoring equipment does remain functional and provides advice about safety considerations. The test should reassure practitioners that such an approach is feasible.

In this paper, theoretical/simulation study of specific absorption rate (SAR) and/or temperature distributions in a bi-layered bio-media (fat and muscle)/realistic tri-layered bio-media (skin, fat, and muscle layers) in direct contact with water-loaded metal diagonal horn (MDH) designed at 915 MHz are investigated. The effects of fat thickness on the input reflection coefficient, reflection coefficient at the interface between the MDH and the bi-layered bio-media, and the SAR distribution in the bi-layered bio-media are also studied through simulation and theoretically at 915 MHz. Further, the SAR parameters such as penetration depth and effective field size inside the bi-layered bio-media due to the MDH are evaluated theoretically and the theoretical results are compared with the corresponding simulation results. Finally, SAR and temperature distributions in tri-layered bio-media without and with embedded irregular/oval-shaped tumor are provided for demonstrating the hyperthermia performance of the MDH applicator.

Exertional heat illness is a classification of disease with clinical presentations that are not always diagnosed easily. Exertional heat stroke is a significant cause of death in competitive sports, and the increasing popularity of marathons races and ultra-endurance competitions will make treating many heat illnesses more common for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers. Although evidence is available primarily from case series and healthy volunteer studies, the consensus for treating exertional heat illness, coupled with altered mental status, is whole body rapid cooling. Cold or ice water immersion remains the most effective treatment to achieve this goal. External thermometry is unreliable in the context of heat stress and direct internal temperature measurement by rectal or esophageal probes must be used when diagnosing heat illness and during cooling. With rapid recognition and implementation of effective cooling, most patients suffering from exertional heat stroke will recover quickly and can be discharged home with instructions to rest and to avoid heat stress and exercise for a minimum of 48 hours; although, further research pertaining to return to activity is warranted.

PryorRR, RothRN, SuyamaJ, HostlerD. Exertional Heat Illness: Emerging Concepts and Advances in Prehospital Care. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(3):19.

Dietary glutamine (Gln) supplementation improves intestinal function in several stressful conditions. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of dietary Gln supplementation on the core body temperature (Tcore), bacterial translocation (BT) and intestinal permeability of mice subjected to acute heat stress were evaluated. Male Swiss mice (4 weeks old) were implanted with an abdominal temperature sensor and randomly assigned to one of the following groups fed isoenergetic and isoproteic diets for 7 d before the experimental trials: group fed the standard AIN-93G diet and exposed to a high ambient temperature (39°C) for 2 h (H-NS); group fed the AIN-93G diet supplemented with l-Gln and exposed to a high temperature (H-Gln); group fed the standard AIN-93G diet and not exposed to a high temperature (control, C-NS). Mice were orally administered diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid radiolabelled with technetium (99mTc) for the assessment of intestinal permeability or 99mTc-Escherichia coli for the assessment of BT. Heat exposure increased Tcore (approximately 41°C during the experimental trial), intestinal permeability and BT to the blood and liver (3 h after the experimental trial) in mice from the H-NS group relative to those from the C-NS group. Dietary Gln supplementation attenuated hyperthermia and prevented the increases in intestinal permeability and BT induced by heat exposure. No correlations were observed between the improvements in gastrointestinal function and the attenuation of hyperthermia by Gln. Our findings indicate that dietary Gln supplementation preserved the integrity of the intestinal barrier and reduced the severity of hyperthermia during heat exposure. The findings also indicate that these Gln-mediated effects occurred through independent mechanisms.

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to explore the literature on the use of hyperthermia (HT) in advanced breast cancer.

Methods: A literature search was conducted to obtain information from recent trials of HT and/or chemotherapy (CH) and radiotherapy (RT) for patients with locally recurrent breast carcinoma. Issues concerned with patient compliance and side effects have also been reviewed and future recommendations for research made.

Results: Results of recent trials have demonstrated promising outcomes for HT and RT in combination, particularly for recurrent disease to improve local control (LC). There is no evidence, however, to support a positive effect on overall survival.

Conclusions: Despite positive results HT has not been widely embraced, due to financial and logistical limitations. Future recommendations include larger, randomised, controlled studies and the development of temperature mapping to avoid potentially limiting HT blisters.

Aspects of the physiology of the arid-occurring otomyine rodents of southern Africa (Parotomys brantsii, Parotomys littledalei and Otomys unisulcatus) were examined, including: (1) renal function; (2) thermal physiology. Parotomys littledalei exhibited a maximum predicted urine-concentrating ability similar to other arid-occurring rodents. Maximum concentrating abilities were moderate for O. unisulcatus and low for P. brantsii. The extension of P. littledalei into the driest regions, in which it occurs allopatrically, suggests the importance of renal function in determining the distributional limits of these species. The thermophysiology of these otomyine species demonstrated a mixed ability to cope with aridity. Typical of arid-occurring diurnal rodents, all became hyperthermic at high ambient temperatures. However, none exhibited several additional thermophysiological characteristics common to arid-occurring rodents. Thus, resting metabolic rate was not lower than expected for body size, while lower critical temperatures were relatively low and the thermal neutral zone was broad. Nevertheless, the upper limit of thermoneutrality of P. littledalei was lower than that of P. brantsii or O. unisulcatus. The failure of P. littledalei to occur in hotter areas, in which P. brantsii occurs, seems to be related to its thermal physiology. Whereas renal function or thermophysiology may influence the arid extension of P. brantsii and P. littledalei, the high vulnerability of its refuges to fire damage may limit the distribution of O. unisulcatus. Reviewing the thermophysiology of the Otomyinae from more mesic habitats, we argue that their thermophysiology is more closely related to refuge type than aridity. Compared to the apparently specialized physiological mechanisms used by omnivorous or granivorous desert rodents, our study suggests behavioural adaptations such as refuge type and food selection are more important to the survival of these herbivorous desert rodents.

The plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin, lactate, cortisol and free fatty acids were investigated in normal pigs and those with the homozygous and heterozygous genetic mutation for malignant hyperthermia (MH). Blood samples were obtained during a 24-h resting period, a glucose tolerance test and during a treadmill test with submaximal physical load conditions. The homozygous MH positive animals elicited the highest glucose concentrations and the homozygous MH negative animals the lowest at each sampling time during the 24-h period (P < 0·01). During the glucose tolerance test, the most pronounced post-prandial increase and the highest plasma concentrations of glucose were found for the homozygous MH positive animals (P < 0·01), which was associated with a late release of insulin. Increasing work loads during the treadmill test run resulted in an increase of plasma cortisol concentrations in all animals (P < 0·01), with the more pronounced increase for the homozygous and heterozygous MH positive animals. Plasma free fatty acid concentrations during the treadmill test differed between the genotypes (P < 0·05). A pronounced increase was found for the homozygous and heterozygous MH positive animals, whereas the MH negative animals provided very constant free fatty acid values, at a low level, independent of the work load. These results indicate that the genetic mutation for MH in pigs affects the metabolic pathways of the energy metabolism, resulting in higher plasma glucose concentrations at rest and higher lipolytic activities under physical load conditions.