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Tested active substance reached according to researchers identical modes of action as sport
In general, people should exercise adequate exercise and perform additional physical activity to benefit from the positive effects on the body. But there are also people who for various reasons can not participate in any sporting activities. Researchers have now developed a tablet that seems to bring the same benefits as physical activity.
San Diego physicians at the Salk Institute found in their study that a tablet might give the same benefits to some people as those normally achieved through fitness training. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Cell Metabolism".
People should ideally have enough exercise to strengthen their health. Physicians have now developed a tablet that appears to have the same positive health effects as physical activity. (Image: ARochau / fotolia.com) Tablet could fitter people with health problems
Unfortunately, some people are not able to participate in sweaty fitness trainings or to jog for hours. Exactly such people now seem to be able to help a newly developed tablet. Especially people with obesity or certain physical disabilities could allow this tablet to finally get the benefits of adequate exercise, they say.
Drug leads to massive increase in performance in mice
The new experimental drug allowed mice to run on a treadmill for 270 minutes before exhaustion began. If the mice did not take this drug, they could only walk 160 minutes before reaching their physical limit, the researchers explain.
Tablet useful for people with diabetes?
The increased use of endurance sports has also produced a number of other obvious health benefits. By taking the drug for a period of eight weeks, the mice were better able to control their blood sugar levels and had less weight problems, the researchers say. These effects indicate that the newly developed tablet could also help people with diabetes.
Physicians are studying the importance of endurance at the molecular level
Scientists at the Salk Institute in San Diego discovered the effects of the tablet as they sought to understand the importance of endurance at the molecular level. Will it be possible at some point through research that drugs completely replace physical training and still lead to the same positive health benefits, then the author Ronald Evans wondered.
Drug affects activity of nearly 1,000 genes
The drug, called GW501516, has previously shown in experiments that it can improve endurance and also help burn fat better, the researchers explain. Through a series of tests with mice on treadmills, it became clear that the drug is altering the activity of nearly 1,000 genes. Many of the genes that became more active with the tablet were involved in fat burning and exercise limits. Other genes, on the other hand, were suppressed by the tablet. Among them were some genes that normally converted sugar into energy, the doctors add.
Due to the drug, the load limit is triggered later
The drug helps the body to burn fat faster. But sugar is burned slower. The result of these effects is that the drug is likely to cause the drop in blood sugar levels, which will trigger the feeling of the exercise limit, later than normal, the experts speculate.
Tablet drastically improves endurance capacity
In competitions in endurance sports such as cycling, marathons and cross-country skiing, reaching the limit is a dramatic demonstration of sudden exhaustion, explain the scientists. The new drug has its effect on muscle proteins called PPARD. The observed effect is sufficient to drastically improve endurance capacity, the researchers add.
Physical fitness without training?
Physical activity activates PPARD. The new research has shown that the same effect can be achieved without having to do any exercise at all. In other words, by taking pills they can come to the same level of stamina as they show trained individuals, but without having to go through physical exertion, explains author Weiwei Fan.
Initially, effects on cardiovascular disease were investigated
Originally, the drug was developed in the 1990s. The drug was supposed to be used to treat cardiovascular disease. The research was later discontinued because a number of studies had found that high doses of the drug could apparently cause cancer, say the doctors.
Drug has already been used at Olympic Games to increase performance
Nevertheless, the scientists continued to investigate the effects of the drug. A decade ago, the results of animal testing then showed that the drug could possibly increase endurance. At that time it became clear that the drug was already offered as a drug on the black market. At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, apparently even some athletes used the drug to increase performance.
Tablet is especially useful for people with health problems
Some groups of people can not exercise for some reason. For such persons, it would be very beneficial if they were to take a tablet which causes some of the beneficial effects of exercise activity. A tablet of this kind would allow sufferers to reach a certain level of physical endurance, from which they could then begin with proper exercise, the authors of the study explain.
Further research is needed
It is also important to find out what long-term effects the use of such tablets has on those affected. For example, a person with obesity or diabetes could take the tablet for a period of 40 or even 50 years, say the scientists. But what happens when people take this medicine for so long? This question must first be answered by new investigations. (As)