Scientists discover excercise in a pill

nadt
By nadt

source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=607494

Scientists invent 'exercise in a pill'10:21 AEST Fri Aug 1 200812 hours 56 minutes agoReutersVIEWS: 0| FLOCKS: 0| 0 comments so farResearchers who genetically engineered "marathon mice" that could run for hours have found two pills that can mimic the effects — and they have already developed a test for the drugs in case athletes try to cheat with them.

The drugs reproduce many of the biological benefits of exercise, helping cells burn fat better and boosting endurance, said Ronald Evans, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California.

One of the pills may some day help people enhance their exercise or training, while the other might be more suited for couch potatoes who need to kick-start themselves, Evans and colleagues reported on Thursday in the journal Cell.

"If you like exercise, you like the idea of getting more bang for your buck," Evans said in a statement. "If you don't like exercise, you love the idea of getting the benefits from a pill."

In 2004, Evans and his colleagues genetically engineered mice by tweaking a gene called PPAR-delta, a master regulator of different genes. Gene-engineered mice could run twice as far as normal mice and stayed lean even when fed a high-fat diet.

The next step was to find a drug that might mimic these effects.

Evans tested a compound called GW1516, one of a family of compounds that researchers are looking at as obesity and diabetes drugs. But even though it affected the genes of the mice, it did not affect their metabolism.

"There was no change at all in running performance. Nothing, not even a percent," Evans said in a statement.

Mimicking life

Then the researchers thought about what happens in real life.

"If you're out of shape - and most of us are - and you want to change, you have to do some exercise. The way we reprogram muscle in adults is by training."

So they trained the mice while some were on the drug and others were not.

All the mice became more athletic but those given GW1516 ran 68 percent longer than those that had only done the exercise training. "The dramatic effect of the drug was stunning," Evans said.

But that does not help people who might have muscle-wasting diseases, fatigue, or who are too overweight to exercise.

They went back to see if there was a different way to affect PPAR-delta. One compound that is well understood already is AMP-activate protein kinase or AMPK, "a master regulator of cellular and organismal metabolism", they wrote.

"We think AMPK activity is the secret to allowing PPAR-delta drugs to work," Evans said.

A drug called AICAR mimics AMP, Evans said, "so muscle thinks it's burning fat."

Mice given AICAR ran 44 percent longer than untreated animals, the researchers found.

"This is a drug that is like pharmacological exercise," Evans says. "After four weeks of receiving the drug, the mice were behaving as if they'd been exercised."

Treated mice could outrun mice given traditional exercise training, Evans said.

"Almost no one gets the recommended 40 minutes to an hour per day of exercise," Evans said. "For this group of people, if there was a way to mimic exercise, it would make the quality of exercise that they do much more efficient."

The pills are only available experimentally now and Evans is not working with any drug company. But GW1516 has a relatively simple chemical structure and can be synthesized easily, Evans said.

Wow would like to get my hands on that pill, if/when it becomes available...

By spicemom• 3 Aug 2008 19:43
spicemom

hmmm will have to check on Da's abs next time i see him........>is reminded of an ants waistline..........heheehhehhehehhhhe

life's too short so make the most of it, you only live but once.......

By DaRuDe• 3 Aug 2008 19:38
DaRuDe

quiet you :? dont offend my abs :?

 

 

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By spicemom• 3 Aug 2008 19:37
spicemom

and you got abs??wow , where abts are they??>sticks tongue out

life's too short so make the most of it, you only live but once.......

By DaRuDe• 3 Aug 2008 19:35
DaRuDe

 no i only use to hang upside down and work on my abs :D GETTING FAT IS FORBIDDEN IN MY BOOKS

 

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By spicemom• 3 Aug 2008 19:34
spicemom

DaRuDe - ever hear abt innocent till proven guilty???btw wats with you and this hangin stuff??are you turning to a bat now??lol

life's too short so make the most of it, you only live but once.......

By DaRuDe• 3 Aug 2008 19:31
DaRuDe

 damn next time i need to cover my self in abaya :?

 

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By nadt• 3 Aug 2008 19:29
nadt

lol Darude..no need to hang the ladies, they are innocent, its on QL i hear news about you...

By DaRuDe• 3 Aug 2008 19:25
DaRuDe

where do you hear all those news about me.

Novita?? oh man am going to hang her with spice mom

 

 

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By nadt• 2 Aug 2008 23:48
nadt

Darude, dont worry about this pill, from what i hear you very skinny and active, hence no need for you..lucky you..

By spicemom• 2 Aug 2008 13:18
spicemom

apple - no no by then ya will be a ki-ple(kiwi+apple)>sniggers

life's too short so make the most of it, you only live but once.......

By Apple• 2 Aug 2008 13:02
Apple

*side effects-->increase stimulation of hair follicles??*

aaawww! dont want either spicemom, hahaaaaa

imagine a green Apple w/ hairs? lol, what am i kiwi?

-------------------------------------------------------

"A LADY IS A WOMAN WHO MAKES A MAN BEHAVE LIKE A GENTLEMAN" Russell Lynes

By spicemom• 2 Aug 2008 12:54
spicemom

nah i think i shall pass , will just stick to the conventional way.......dont want more hair hence will look like wolfie there..........heheheehhehhehhhhe

life's too short so make the most of it, you only live but once.......

By JBH• 2 Aug 2008 10:51
JBH

Apparently the side effects are increased stimulation of the hair follicles.

I've just ordered a 45 gallon drum of the stuff.

Call me Maninibat!

By mallrat• 2 Aug 2008 10:35
mallrat

i wanna party at havanna in jersey, and don;t want entry-denied, lol

.

i need this pill now..

.

.

After the game, the KiNG and the PAwN go into the same box.

-Italian Proverb

By nabil_munir• 2 Aug 2008 10:10
nabil_munir

there is no shortcut as sucessful as the natural timings it may take -------------THINK HIGH LIVE SIMPLE------------------

By stress_in_babel• 2 Aug 2008 03:27
stress_in_babel

yeah why they don't mention side effects? probably cuz it's not tested on humans yet. but hope it would be a succes. wishing for the day when i will go to gym just for socialising. :D without all the sweat and back pain. lord, have mercy!

for the guy with the ecstasy, u want to get us killed? no thanks, i can easily dance all night and the morning after without drugs. :P

By DaRuDe• 2 Aug 2008 01:13
DaRuDe

am avoiding not to sleep and you want me to read all this and fall down of keyboard.

Can you brief me about the pill and its health wealth nadt.

 

 

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By flanostu• 2 Aug 2008 00:39
Rating: 3/5
flanostu

take some ecstacy pills, you'll dance all night. that's good exercise.

By nadt• 1 Aug 2008 23:59
nadt

yeah me too, lets just hope the side effects are minor..

By Apple• 1 Aug 2008 23:56
Apple

but can't wait for it:))

-------------------------------------------------------

"A LADY IS A WOMAN WHO MAKES A MAN BEHAVE LIKE A GENTLEMAN" Russell Lynes

By nadt• 1 Aug 2008 23:45
nadt

Yeah Apple, no doubt there will be side effects...

By Apple• 1 Aug 2008 23:41
Apple

how safe it is? im more concern on the side effects.'

-------------------------------------------------------

"A LADY IS A WOMAN WHO MAKES A MAN BEHAVE LIKE A GENTLEMAN" Russell Lynes

By nadt• 1 Aug 2008 23:34
nadt

hiya Alexa, hope you holidays were good...Im annoyed they can announce this sort of news and tease us..lol...I want it now..

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