Developers: | Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) |
Date of the premiere of the system: | September 2022 |
Branches: | Pharmaceuticals, Medicine, Healthcare |
2022: Product Announcement
In mid-September 2022, researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University reported successful reproduction of a compound that induces calcium and stimulates muscle cell growth. A process that occurs naturally in healthy adults as a result of exercise.
Countless previous studies show that regular exercise helps maintain muscle and bone strength, especially as you age. However, many bedridden or elderly people cannot engage in such activity, which can lead to motor weakness, or significant weakening of muscles and bones.
Scientists from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), who participated in the latest study, published in August 2022 in the journal Bone Research, believe that their so-called exercise drug can help treat musculoskeletal weakness. The results they obtained suggest that the drug could be used to mimic the effect of exercise in sedentary people and to treat musculoskeletal weakness.
For the first time, investigators have identified an aminoindazole derivative compound, locamidazole, also known as LAMZ. This compound stimulates muscle growth, induces calcium and increases tissue - changes that usually occur with regular exercise. The researchers successfully injected the drug into mice, raising optimism that they could soon reduce fragility and promote bone formation in people who cannot remain physically active. LAMZ was able to stimulate the growth of muscle cells and bone-forming cells, osteoblasts, while suppressing the growth of bone-destroying cells, osteoclasts.
When the exercise drug was administered orally to mice, it showed many positive signs, including the absence of any side effects. In addition, LAMZ successfully mimicked calcium and PGC-1a signaling pathways, the researchers said. In people who do not suffer from musculoskeletal weakness, these pathways are activated during exercise and provide molecular stimulation of muscles and bones.
Scientists warn that long periods of inactivity can lead to weakening of muscles, known as sarcopenia, and bones, known as osteoporosis. People with motor weakness often find it very difficult to walk or even perform sitting and standing movements. The TMDU research team said this type of drug therapy could be useful for treating both sarcopenia and osteoporosis. This drug may particularly help patients who are bedridden or have cerebrovascular disease or dementia.
The study authors did not report when the exercise drug could become available to patients in need. Of course, human trials must be carried out before predicting the widespread spread of the pill.[1]