Health surprise: Sleeping bears could help us beat blood clots, new study says

Sleeping bears may not help us avoid long plane rides or unforgiving winters, but they can help us prevent blood clots.

Bears prevent blood clots during hibernation by keeping levels of a key protein in their blood low, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

The researchers now hope their results can be applied to develop future drugs in humans, which can imitate how nature prevents blood clots in bears.

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Researchers compared 13 blood samples wild brown bears in the winter when they hibernated with blood samples, in the summer when the bears were more active.

They specifically studied platelets, which help blood clot, and found that blood samples from hibernating bears contained platelets that were less likely to stick together than samples taken from bears during the summer.

A grizzly bear forages in Glacier National Park in Montana.  While hibernating bears may not help us avoid long plane rides or unforgiving winters, they can help us prevent blood clots, according to a new study that looked at blood samples from both hibernating and active bears.

A grizzly bear forages in Glacier National Park in Montana. While hibernating bears may not help us avoid long plane rides or unforgiving winters, they can help us prevent blood clots, according to a new study that looked at blood samples from both hibernating and active bears. (iStock)

The research team also found that when platelets clotted, they did so more slowly.

The study found that a key difference in blood samples from bears during winter and summer was the level of a protein called heat shock protein 47, or HSP47, in platelets.

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This protein is commonly found in cells that form connective tissues such as bone and cartilage, as well as in platelets, where HSP47 attaches to a protein called collagen, which helps them stick together and form a clot.

The study found a key difference in blood samples from bears in winter and summer.

Sleeping bears had about one-fiftieth the amount of HSP47 found in active animals.

The study was carried out by cardiologists at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, who teamed up with a Scandinavian team and other researchers to study Winter brown bears in Swedenaccording to science.

Blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets that float in the liquid part of the blood known as plasma.  When we bleed, this initiates coagulation - or a clotting cascade - which activates platelet proteins that stick together to fill the hole in the blood vessel so that we stop bleeding.

Blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets that float in the liquid part of the blood known as plasma. When we bleed, this initiates coagulation – or a clotting cascade – which activates platelet proteins that stick together to fill the hole in the blood vessel so that we stop bleeding. (iStock)

The researchers also conducted laboratory experiments with mice to confirm that HSP47 was responsible for the absence of blood clots in hibernating bears.

Mice that lacked the HSP47 protein had fewer clots and lower levels of inflammation compared to animals that did have HSP47.

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In addition, the researchers found that newly born pigs — animals that are completely immobile for up to 28 days while nursing their piglets — also had lower levels of HSP47 compared to active pigs.

The findings also apply to people who have problems with prolonged immobility.

The researchers found that newly born pigs — animals that remain completely immobile for up to 28 days while nursing their piglets — also have lower levels of HSP47 compared to active pigs.

The researchers found that newly born pigs — animals that remain completely immobile for up to 28 days while nursing their piglets — also have lower levels of HSP47 compared to active pigs. (iStock)

People with spinal cord injury also had low levels of HSP47. In addition, 12 healthy volunteers had lower HSP47 levels after 27 days of relative immobility in the bed rest study.

How do clots form in the body?

“When we cut ourselves, we bleed because the blood vessels under the skin rupture,” says the doctor. Mikkael Sekeres, Head of Hematology at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Cancer Center Miami, Florida, Fox News Digital reported. (He did not participate in the study.)

“They then release chemicals that in turn activate proteins in the plasma,” added Sekeres, author of Drugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy, and Public Trust.

Sometimes this process can not start properly even in the absence of bleeding, causing “deep vein thrombosis”.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets that float in the liquid part of the blood known as plasma.

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When we bleed, this initiates coagulation — or a clotting cascade — that activates platelet proteins that stick together to fill the hole in the blood vessel, so we stop the bleeding, Szekeres explained.

Deep vein thrombosis can be dangerous

This process can sometimes be activated inappropriately even in the absence of bleeding, causing “deep vein thrombosis” or DVT.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets that float in the liquid part of the blood known as plasma.  When we bleed, this initiates coagulation — or a clotting cascade — that activates platelet proteins that stick together to fill the hole in the blood vessel so we stop the bleeding, one doctor explained.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets that float in the liquid part of the blood known as plasma. When we bleed, this initiates coagulation — or a clotting cascade — that activates platelet proteins that stick together to fill the hole in the blood vessel so we stop the bleeding, one doctor explained. (iStock)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), common symptoms of DVT include swelling, pain, tenderness, and redness of the skin on the lower leg, thigh, pelvis, and sometimes even the arm.

The agency added that about 50% of people with DVT will have no symptoms.

People can often develop large veins in their legs, “which can become life-threatening if they enter vital organs such as the lungs – so-called [a pulmonary] embolism“, – added Sekeres.

“Prolonged inactivity” – such as during long plane flights – can lead to blood pooling and increase the risk of DVT.

Pulmonary embolism, which is the most serious complication of DVT, occurs when part of a blood clot breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs, blocking vital blood flow, according to the CDC.

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Sekeres noted that “prolonged inactivity” – for example, during long plane flights – can cause blood to pool and make people more at risk for DVT.

Other risk factors include certain medications, such as hormone therapy, surgery, or “inherited defects in the clotting cascade that cause it to turn on,” he added.

The cabin of a commercial airliner, packed full of passengers.  Health experts advise people to get up and move from time to time on long flights.  Another good tip includes stretching your feet and calves to improve circulation.

The cabin of a commercial airliner, packed full of passengers. Health experts advise people to get up and move from time to time on long flights. Another good tip includes stretching your feet and calves to improve circulation. (iStock)

The CDC recommends that people see a doctor immediately if they have any symptoms of DVT.

“Potential target” for DVT treatment

Experts can help develop potential drugs that target HSP47 from attaching to proteins or immune cells that initiate blood clots, according to the report on the main findings of the study.

More research is needed to better understand how the human body specifically regulates HSP47.

“We prevent DVT from developing with drugs that block segments of the coagulation cascade or interfere with platelet proteins to prevent clot formation,” Szekeres added.

“The HSP47 protein could be a potential target for one of these drugs.”

Most animals use the same proteins not only to form clots but also to prevent blood loss.

However, the sequence of events leading to the formation of a blood clot can vary between species, according to Science News, an independent journal that reports on the latest scientific advances.

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More research is needed to better understand how the human body specifically regulates HSP47, and how not moving for long periods of time encourages the body to produce less HSP47, Science News added.