**3. References**


<sup>\*</sup> Corresponding author

[8] Falkenbach A., Radon und Gesundheit. Dt Ärztebl, 1999. 96(23): p. A1576 - A1577.

190 Hyperthermia

current treatment options.

Angelika Moder, Heidi Dobias and Markus Ritter\*

2005, Verlag Dr. Kovac: Hamburg. p. 57-71.

*Gastein Research Institute, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria* 

[1] Erickson B. E., Radioactive pain relief: health care strategies and risk assessment among elderly persons with arthritis at radon health mines. J Altern Complement Med, 2007.

[2] Kaul A., Strahlenbedingtes Risiko, in Radon als Heilmittel, Deetjen P., et al., Editors.

[3] Bahous I., Radiosynoviorthesis: local treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, in Biological Effects of 224-Ra, Müller W.A. and Ebert H.G., Editors. 1978, Martinus Nijhoff Medical Division the Hague / Boston for The Commission of the European Communities:

[4] Koch W. and Reske W., Die Ergebnisse der intravenösen Thorium X-Behandlung bei der Spondylarthritis ankylopoetica (M. Bechterew). Strahlenther, 1952. 87: p. 439-457. [5] Lassmann M., Nosske D., and Reiners C., Therapy of ankylosing spondylitis with 224Ra-radium chloride: dosimetry and risk considerations. Radiat Environ Biophys,

[6] Wick R., Atkinson M.J., and Nekolla E.A., Incidence of leukaemia and other malignant diseases following injections of the short-lived -emitter Ra into man. Radiat Environ

[7] Hofmann W., Radon doses compared to X-ray doses, in Radon in der Kurortmedizin, Pratzel H.G. and Deetjen P., Editors. 1997, ISMH Verlag: Geretsried. p. 57-67.

*Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology,* 

**Author details** 

**3. References** 

13(3): p. 375-79.

Boston. p. 71-78.

2002. 41(3): p. 173-8.

 \*

Corresponding author

Biophys, 2009. 48: p. 287-294.

immediately after therapy. Combined RnHT represents a cost effective method that alleviates pain and, thus, allows reducing drug intake which, in turn, may contribute to the prevention of adverse events caused by NSAIDs and glucocorticoids. As mentioned above, radionuclide-based therapy has been employed in the management of rheumatic disorders for decades. However, the poor benefit-risk ratio led to severe limitations or complete discontinuation in clinical use. RnHT poses doses to the patients which are in magnitude 10- 5 lower in respect to the bone dose compared to 224Radiumchloride-injection regimens. However, further studies are necessary to evaluate potential risks of low-dose RnHT. Although some studies implicate a beneficial effect of hyperthermia therapy for rheumatic diseases, combined RnHT turned out to be more effective than sauna or balneotherapy at an ambient temperature of 37° C lacking 222Rn. As combined RnHT may also exert beneficial effects in other disease entities, further studies are necessary to prove its place among the


[25] Van Tubergen A., et al., Combined spa-exercise therapy is effective in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a randomized controlled trial. Arthritis Rheum, 2001. 45(5): p. 430-8.

**Chapter 8** 

© 2013 Tabarean, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

**Histaminergic Modulation of Body** 

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Iustin V. Tabarean

**1. Introduction** 

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/52400

**Temperature and Energy Expenditure** 

understanding of the cellular and neural network mechanisms involved.

**2. Hypothalamic control of thermoregulation** 

The role of histamine signaling in the brain in thermoregulation has been unraveled in various organisms. The preoptic area/ anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH), region which contains thermoeregulatory neurons, is the main locus in which histamine affects body temperature. Histamine has a complex influence on thermoregulation and its circadian cycle and appears to be involved also in numerous pathological responses that involve changes in core body temperature. The neurotransmitter activates several signaling pathways involving H1, H2 and H3 subtype receptors and recruits distinct neuronal networks to modulate body temperature. In this review we describe the mechanism involved in the hypothalamic control of thermoregulation, the signaling mechanisms activated by histamine in the brain, the evidence for its role in thermoregulation as well as recent advances in the

Homeothermia is present in mammals and birds and enables them to maintain their deepbody temperature (Tcore) at stable levels. Tcore can physiologically deviate from its normal value (the value at rest in thermoneutral environment) under the influence of the day-night cycle, the menstrual cycle, or seasonal cycles, such as hibernation. Pathophysiological changes in Tcore include fever (a hyperthermic response to infections), dehydration hyperthermia, and starvation-induced hypothermia. The key role played by the preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH) in the regulation of Tcore was recognized more than a 100 years ago, based on experiments using experimental brain lesions, and selective hypothalamic cooling and heating with chronically implanted thermodes (reviewed in [1]). Sustained or alternating PO/AH cooling and heating induce thermoregulatory activities (physiological or behavioral), causing Tcore to change in the direction opposite to that of the


**Chapter 8** 
