Recently, a team of researchers presented a report at the meeting of the American Chemical Society regarding the development of a pill replicating the physical effects of exercise, specifically focusing on enhancement of metabolism and growth, as well as improvement of muscle performance.
“We cannot replace exercise; exercise is important on all levels,” Bahaa Elgendy, a professor of anesthesiology and the project’s principal investigator, said. “If I can exercise, I should go ahead and get the physical activity. But there are so many cases in which a substitute is needed.”
The researchers said that the pill could be beneficial for patients with muscle atrophy and other medical conditions, such as cancer, heart failure and neurodegenerative disease. They added that the exercise pill could counter the loss of both muscle and fat caused by old-age or other drugs.
Elgendy suggested, “It can be combined with the new wave of drugs: antidiabetic drugs and drugs that are used for obesity and weight loss.”
During the testing, the researchers found that the proposed pill increased the fatigue-resistant muscle fiber and endurance of the mice while running on a rodent treadmill.
The researchers are planning to test the drug on other animals, before performing the final test on humans to ensure the drug safety and effectiveness.
“We’re not saying by any means or forms that people shouldn’t exercise,” Elgendy emphasized. “But hopefully will help people who cannot exercise. And in other cases, it can complement exercise programs to give more benefits to patients as well”.
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