The Spring Fever
The Spring Fever
P.K.Ghatak, MD
No.53.
We wait so impatiently to usher in the spring at the end of winter. Then we welcome Easter with a fanfare; followed by egg hunts, costume parades and lovely family dinners.
Seasonal allergy sufferers hate the arrival of the spring because it is also the beginning of their period of misery of sneezing, coughing and not feeling well and unable to join the rest of the family with outdoor activities.
The bursts of outdoor activities, festivities and entertaining is not only limited to humans but also by the plant and animal kingdoms. The plants initiate the process by a burst of colors, flowers and new leaves. Plants sense the arrival of the spring by judging the lengthening of the day and not by the thawing of snow due to increasing temperature.
The role of eyes:
Retina.
The retinae of the eyes contain the light and color sensors; these are rods and cones respectively. They are connected to a layer of bipolar cells. The optic nerve originates from here and carries the visual senses to the vision center, which is located on the back of the cerebral cortex. The optic nerve on the way to the visual center makes two connections in the mid-brain. The mid brain centers connect with the Hypothalamus, Pituitary glands – anterior and posterior, pineal gland and Raphe nuclei. And many other nerve centers in the cerebral cortex,
The Supranuclear nuclei of the hypothalamus is the Brain Center for light-dark effects on the body. It is better known as Circadian Rhythm.
The regulation of hormones, neurotransmitters, mental alertness, sleep, appetite, metabolic activities, mood and emotions, physical activities and sexual desire are controlled and modulated by this integrated unit located in the supranuclear nuclei. However, all local systems have some degree of local circadian rhythm apparatus.
The influence of the brightness of daylight and duration of day are encoded in the DNA / RNA in all living animals and plants. In humans the effects of the coded instructions of the DNA are modified by the adaptive behavior and learning process which made the humans the top predator among the living. However, the humans follow the same euphoria, outward expression of joy and socializing in the spring in the northern hemisphere and during the months of September to March in the southern hemisphere.
The circadian center in the newborns becomes active at 3 months of age. About 50 % of the blind people exhibit circadian rhythm. The rest of the blinds have some other ways to judge the duration of the daylight. Disruption of this circadian rhythm is most clearly manifested in disturbed patterns of sleep. Jet jag is an example of innate rhythm disruption by local day-night clock.
The supranuclear nucleus keeps an inhibitory control on the synthesis and release of melatonin when eyes senses daylight,
With the beginning of the sunset this inhibitory control is withdrawn, and synthesis and release of melatonin begins. The monitor light of the computers and cellphone light can interfere with this day-dark signal and interfere with melatonin release. Melatonin begins preparing the body for sleep. This process is supplemented by hormones and neurotransmitters.
Cortisol.
The influence of the brain center in the pituitary gland is opposite that of the pineal gland. It stimulates release of ACTH hormone. Under ACTH adrenal glands and gonadal organs release Cortisol and other steroid hormones. The end result is humans become ready mentally and physically to carry out physical works and remain mentally alert.
Adrenaline.
Hypothalamus is the center for control of all autonomic functions of the body. In the sympathetic side stimulation of sympathetic ganglions releases adrenaline and noradrenaline adrenaline. This prepares the body for fight, in order words face any adverse circumstances.
The Pineal Gland.
The pineal gland is located in the middle of the midbrain on the roof of the 3rd ventricle and in between the two thalami. The pineal gland is about the size of a rice grain and looks like a pinecone. The blood-brain-barrier is absent here, enabling it to discharge its hormone, Melatonin directly in the blood and also some amount of melatonin is discharged into the Cerebro-spinal fluid.
Melatonin is derived from serotonin which is made from the amino acid Tryptophan in the Raphe of the brain.
The Circadian Rhythm.
The principal function of circadian rhythm is to regulate the body's 24-hour clock and implement the sleep-wake cycle. Maintenance of the core body temperature, metabolism, appetite, pulsatile release of various hormones, mental alertness, optimizing the body for daily activities and sleep at night are achieved through the circadian rhythm. Because of this circadian clock we are able to optimize our energy use and smooth functioning of the physical functions over day in and day out through our lifetime.
Medical spring Fever:
The above is a short account of nature's spring fever. The medical spring fever is limited to a minority of the population, but it is a miserable time for the allergy sufferers.
The bursts of color of cherry blossom as much as it elevates human spirits; it also depresses those who are allergic to pollen. And that is just the beginning. Fruit trees followed by flowers of maples, oaks, weeds and grasses are impatiently lined up to display their wares and saturate the air with their yellow pollen.
Chemically, pollens are proteins and are antigenic for susceptible people. Our body develops IgE antibodies to the protein of pollen. In the majority of cases of allergy develop only to about a handful of the tree pollens, others to a wide variety of weeds and grasses.
The eosinophils and basophils of the white cells of blood carry receptors for IgE immunoglobulin. Once IgE combines with its receptors, the membrane of eosinophils and basophils opens up. The preformed packets of enzymes contained within the cell body are released at the local sites. The enzymes produce swelling and profuse watery discharges from the nasal passage and bronchial tubes. Sneezing, coughing and wheezing follows. And this is the medical spring fever.
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