Exercise in a Pill? Not So Fast
ABC News Medical Unit - ALLYSON T. COLLINS | While new research suggests that drugs could enhance or even mimic the effects of exercise, many researchers say that the notion that you could skip the treadmill and pop a pill is premature.
A team of scientists led by Ronald M. Evans, an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at the Salk Institute's Gene Expression Laboratory, studied two drugs that trigger genetic changes in the body -- changes that are typically stimulated by exercise and can ultimately lead to improved muscle functioning and energy-burning abilities.
And in mice, at least, the drugs seem to show some positive results. When given to exercise-trained mice, the first drug, known as GW1516, increased their running time by 68 percent and distance by 70 percent.
ABC News Medical Unit - ALLYSON T. COLLINS | While new research suggests that drugs could enhance or even mimic the effects of exercise, many researchers say that the notion that you could skip the treadmill and pop a pill is premature.
A team of scientists led by Ronald M. Evans, an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at the Salk Institute's Gene Expression Laboratory, studied two drugs that trigger genetic changes in the body -- changes that are typically stimulated by exercise and can ultimately lead to improved muscle functioning and energy-burning abilities.
And in mice, at least, the drugs seem to show some positive results. When given to exercise-trained mice, the first drug, known as GW1516, increased their running time by 68 percent and distance by 70 percent.