Physical activity is necessary for the human body because our bodies have evolved to constantly move. If a person begins to lead a sedentary lifestyle, for example, sits in the office all day and then spends the evening on the couch, then he develops chronic diseases, such as, for example, thrombosis. The way out of this situation is to visit the gym, but not everyone can play sports, for example, due to health problems, lack of time, or even just laziness. Scientists have decided to solve this problem with the help of a drug that will act in the same way as playing sports in the gym.
Scientists have created a drug that can be used instead of playing sports
What happens to the body while playing sports
Why is exercise generally good for the body? The reason is that at this point many processes and systems begin to work differently. First of all, changes occur in metabolism, as a result of which muscle cells actively divide. Certain hormones are also released, the heart begins to contract more often, as a result, the tissues begin to be more actively supplied with blood, more oxygen enters the brain, etc. At the same time, cholesterol and blood sugar levels are reduced.
As a result of constant port exercises, a person’s endurance increases and muscle mass begins to increase. If a person leads an inactive lifestyle or does not expose himself to physical activity at all, for example, due to age or illness, his muscles atrophy, as a result of which he becomes weaker. In addition, as mentioned above, a number of other diseases occur, including thrombosis, which increases the risk of death.
Metabolism changes during sports
But if you look carefully, you can come to the conclusion that all processes in the body during sports occur at the biochemical level. This means that they can be provoked artificially, that is, with the help of drugs. Moreover, scientists have already managed to do this, although so far only in the body of mice.
A drug that will replace exercise
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a drug that triggers the same metabolic changes in muscles as during exercise. Namely, it activates specialized proteins called estrogen-related receptors (ERR). These proteins come in three types: ERRα, ERRβ and ERRγ, and all three proteins are activated after taking this drug, called SLU-PP-332.
As the researchers themselves report, the most important protein is ERRα, as it is responsible for muscle adaptation to stress caused by physical activity. In addition, the same protein affects other physiological processes that occur as a result of sports.
After taking the drug, the mice increased muscle mass and became more resilient
In experiments on mice, scientists discovered that administering the drug SLU-PP-332 to rodents leads to an increase in muscle fibers and also improves their endurance during physical activity. We can say that mice become stronger without undergoing any additional physical stress. Through further research, scientists developed new compounds that turned out to be even more effective than SLU-PP-332, and at the same time less toxic.
Pill instead of gym — why is it needed
In the future, the drug can compensate for muscle atrophy and weakness that can occur in people in a variety of situations, often beyond their control, for example, with cancer, certain genetic diseases, injuries, etc. In addition, the drug may potentially counteract the effects of other drugs that lead to muscle loss, such as weight loss drugs.
The drug will help build muscle mass for those who do not have time to go to the gym
In addition, the drug may be useful in the treatment of other dangerous diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as heart failure or decreased function kidney In all these cases, the ERR protein plays an important role. Of course, the drug can be a godsend simply for those who are too lazy to go to the gym or do not have enough free time for this.
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But, unfortunately, even if the drug turns out to be effective and safe for people, it will not soon go on sale. Clinical trials are time-consuming, as we discussed in our article on the use of AI in pharmacology. But perhaps artificial intelligence will really speed up the process of creating and testing drugs in the near future.