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FRIDAY, June 27, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Nitric oxide plays an important role in regulating fever, says a Medical College of Georgia study.
Previous studies have offered conflicting conclusions about the role of nitric oxide, including that it induces fever, suppresses fever or plays no role in fever.
But the latest study found nitric oxide does play a role in fever regulation -- a complicated and surprising role, according to lead researcher Dr. Wieslaw E. Kozak, physiologist and biochemist.
Nitric oxide is produced by at least three enzymes in different tissues throughout the body. In experiments with mice, Kozak found each enzyme has a role.
His research to better understand the process of inflammation and resulting fever could help in the development of better ways to treat a wide range of problems, such as major infections and chronic inflammation.
The research appears in the April, May and June issues of the journal Genetic Models in Applied Physiology.
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