Note: I think this question's solutions were posted twice
Q: Think about this question-the answer isn't obvious but common sense should help you work it out. Is fever always bad, and should we always treated using drugs? What are the adverse effects of fever and why do they occur?
A: Fever is a physiological response to a challenge. It makes sense to think that if our body has developed the response it must have some beneficial effects. Increasing the body temperature does increase our ability to destroy bacteria and viruses, and so routinely suppressing any fever does not make sense. We can suppress fever using drugs that have an antipyretic affect. The pyrogens that increase the setpoint in the hypothalamus do so by inducing the production of prostaglandins. We can block prostaglandin production using commonly available drugs that are known as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). We know that regulation of body temperature is important for the maintenance of normal cell function, so an adverse effect of fever is to impair cell function. This can lead to serious consequences such as seizures, which are most common in infants, but can occur in people of any age. It therefore makes perfect sense to try to lower body temperature in cases of severe fevers.
Q: Think about this question-the answer isn't obvious but common sense should help you work it out. Is fever always bad, and should we always treated using drugs? What are the adverse effects of fever and why do they occur?
A: Because fever is a response that has evolved in our body makes sense to think that it is of some benefit. Increasing body temperature appears to slow viral replication and to increase the efficiency of the immune system by enabling immune cells to arrive at infection sites more quickly and to improve the activation of many cells contributing to immunity. But fee that also has disadvantages. It significantly increases the metabolic rate meaning that we are breaking down resources more quickly and can cause cell death. Young children are particularly susceptible to the effects of fever and can develop seizures when their body temperature increases. Currently there is debate in the medical world about whether fever should be treated. Studies have shown that deciding not to treat moderate fever does not result in worse outcomes, but is not yet known whether it improves recovery.
This is not the only example of important physiological processes potentially causing damage in the body. The immune response is vital but an excessive response causes tissue damage and possibly death. Patients with severe pneumonia may require treatment with immunosuppressive drugs to limit ongoing lung damage. The physiological responses to failing heart function help keep us alive in the short term, but in the longer term may hasten death.