One of the challenges for older people with extremely weakened muscles, and for patients who have to spend their entire lives in wheelchairs or beds, is their inability to exercise. When you can’t exercise, your muscles and your cardiovascular system (a system made up of your heart and blood vessels) weaken, and your health gets worse. Is there any way to boost their metabolism so they can restore, or at least maintain, health? In the near future, it seems that ‘exercise drugs’ that can solve this problem will be put to practical use.
Synthesis of substances produced in the body
How can exercise drugs achieve these effects just by taking them? In order to know what changes an exercise drug causes in a person’s body, ‘profiling techniques’ are required. It is a test that analyzes the form of various substances in the blood in the body and predicts the change. There are no exercise drugs that can be used in humans yet, but there are experimental drugs that have actually been developed. GW1516′ and ‘AICAR’ developed by US researchers. However, since these drugs are made by chemical synthesis, it is unclear what side effects they will have.
It is still in the stage where more experiments are needed before it can be used in humans. To address the side effects of chemical synthesis, a French research team developed a drug with a similar function in 2018. The research team found a protein called apelin, which is secreted from the muscles into the blood when the animals exercise. When it was injected into the blood of old mice, they found that muscle mass increased and the ability of muscle stem cells to grow into muscle was restored. When exercise drugs become practical, there is a lot that can be done. What would it be? First of all, it can be used as a treatment for cardiovascular diseases because it has the effect of strengthening the muscles and the cardiovascular system. It can also cure various diseases caused by lack of exercise. It can be a great weapon in the fight against obesity, the biggest enemy of modern people. However, as mentioned earlier, for exercise drugs to be fully put to practical use, thorough clinical trials are required. According to the 2019 announcement of the National Center for Biotechnology Policy Research, exercise drugs will be put into practical use to some extent in the next 10 years.
Increase muscle and endurance just by eating
You’ve probably heard of drugs similar to exercise drugs. When large-scale sporting events such as the Olympics are held, it is often heard in the news. A drug that strengthens you just by taking it. It’s just like doping drugs. Of course, drugs for doping only improve physical performance for a short period of time, but they often harm health, so there is a big difference from exercise drugs. However, there is a case of using exercise drugs as a doping method. In 2009, the French Anti-Doping Agency estimated that AICAR was used as a doping drug at the Tour de France, a world-class cycling competition. GW1516 is also classified as a doping drug and its use is prohibited. Doping is clearly cheating, but there are people who see this incident differently. As long as exercise drugs are used for doping, it means that they are effective for humans.
Why You Shouldn’t Allow Unlimited Exercise Drugs
The latest exercise drugs are being developed by synthesizing substances that are naturally produced in the body when people exercise. This means that side effects are less likely to occur and the effectiveness is greater. However, when exercise drugs are abused, there is a risk that they cause a number of social problems. For example, if only people who can afford drugs can reach their limits or stay slim and healthy, that could be discriminatory against people who can’t afford drugs. Also, no matter how good a drug is, if used indiscriminately, side effects can occur. Furthermore, before buying a drug, make sure that you are fully informed about its usage and side effects. Thorough management of the distribution process is required, such as allowing pharmacies to purchase only with a doctor’s prescription.
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