Drug that prevents Heat Stroke

Scientists have stumbled upon a drug that may prevent heat stroke for people prone to the deadly condition. Ironically, it's the same drug flaunted three years ago as the "couch potato pill" for its ability to build muscle and increase endurance in mice that never break a sweat.

As with the 2008 couch potato study, the researchers have only tested the drug, abbreviated as AICAR, in mice. However, the drug was 100-percent effective in preventing death in these mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to heat stroke. Thus, the finding has implications for anyone exposed to heat or with abnormal heat sensitivity, the researchers said.

Researchers led by Susan Hamilton at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston studied the effects of the drug AICAR on mice with this RYR1 mutation. When these mice exercise in a hot room, they suffer the hallmarks of malignant hyperthermia and die.

Read more: Fox News Article