The benefits of physical exercise could in the future be contained in a pill: the development of a compound that is capable of improving the metabolism and development of muscle cells, as well as the physical performance of mice in which has been tested.
The result, obtained by researchers led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and presented at the meeting of the American Chemical Society, is a promising new step forward for the treatment of diseases such as muscle atrophy, heart failure and neurodegenerative.
The new result goes to those who in the past and with different methods have tried to imitate the effects of training through the simple administration of a pill.
The metabolic changes associated with exercise begin with the activation of specialized proteins, known as 'estrogen receptors'.
Researchers led by Bahaa Elgendy have therefore developed a compound, called SLU-PP-332, which is able to activate it very efficiently: in experiments with mice, in fact, this compound increased a type of resistant muscle fiber to fatigue, improving the animals' resistance when they were made to run on a treadmill.
“We cannot replace exercise, which is important on all levels, for the body and the mind,” says Elgendy: “If I can exercise, I should continue.
But there are many cases where a substitute is needed."
For example, a drug that can mimic these effects could compensate for the muscle atrophy and weakness that can occur as people age or have cancer, or due to certain genetic conditions.
And it could also potentially counteract the effects of other drugs, the researchers say, such as weight-loss drugs that cause loss of both fat and muscle.
But the compound SLU-PP-332 is not the only one on which scientific research has focused.
In 2017, researchers at the American University of Augusta focused on myostatin, a protein that limits muscle growth: mice in which the production of this protein was blocked developed greater muscle mass, and even obese ones showed metabolism and heart function similar to lean ones.
In 2022, however, researchers from the Australian University of New South Wales fed elderly mice with a compound called nicotinamide mononucleotide, a molecule normally present in the body, which allowed the muscles to 'rejuvenate': blood flow increased and improved performance and endurance.
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