Exercise in a Bottle: Drugs May Mimic Benefits of Exercising

Could "exercise in a bottle" actually become a reality? Scientists have found about 1,000 molecular reactions to exercise, which opens the door for drug treatments to mirror the health benefits of exercise.

"Exercise is the most powerful therapy for many human diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders," said David James, one of the researchers, in a news release. "However, for many people exercise isn't a viable treatment option. This means it is essential we find ways of developing drugs that mimic the benefits of exercise."

In this latest study, the researchers analyzed human skeletal muscle biopsies from four untrained, healthy males following 10 minutes of high intensity exercise. Using a technique known as mass spectrometry, the researchers found that short, intensive exercise triggers more than 1,000 changes in the human body.

Most traditional drugs target individual molecules. With this exercise blueprint, though, researchers have proven that any drug that mimics exercise needs to target multiple molecules and possibly even pathways.

"Exercise produces an extremely complex, cascading set of responses within human muscle. It plays an essential role in controlling energy metabolism and insulin sensitivity," said Nolan Hoffman, co-author of the new study. "While scientists have long suspected that exercise causes a complicated series of changes to human muscle, this is the first time we have been able to map exactly what happens. This is a major breakthrough, as it allows scientists to use this information to design a drug that mimics the true beneficial changes caused by exercise."

The findings are important for developing drugs that may mimic exercise. However, it may be quite some time before treatment actually becomes available.

The findings are published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

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