Sleeping a lot could help fight
the flu, according to experiments on mice carried out by
researchers at Washington State University in the United States.
The team led by WSU Professor James Krueger discovered
that mice that had been infected with the H1N1 flu virus and
genetically deprived of AcPb - a brain-specific protein that
plays a part in regulating sleep and activating the immune
system - slept less, developed severer symptoms and died in
greater numbers than mice that had been infected but were
capable of producing the protein.
"Over the years, research has confirmed that sleep has a
very important detoxifying effect in eliminating toxins that the
body takes in or produces during waking hours," said Pietro
Calissano, from the National Research Council's Institute of
Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine (CNR-INMM).
"This study uncovered the molecular mechanism that explains
why sleep is also important in fighting the flu".
The study was published in the November 2014 issue of
Brain, Behavior and Immunity medical journal.
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