Keeping active may be the secret to staying young for both mice and
men. Researchers from Canada’s McMaster University discovered that
endurance exercise could halt the aging process in a group of mice, even
though they were genetically engineered to age faster.
These furry creatures continued to exhibit the same youthful
appearance as normal mice after engaging in a treadmill exercise routine
over a period of several months. In addition, the exercise program
prevented premature aging in almost every organ of the morphed mice.
Details on the mighty mice can be found in the journal .
The results of the analysis indicate that not only can exercise help
to prevent an early death, it can also delay the aging process. The
researchers said that the exercise routine provided nearly 100 percent
protection against graying fur, hair loss, brain and muscle atrophy, and
more.
According to lead study author Mark Tarnopolsky, a Professor of
pediatrics and medicine at McMaster's DeGroote School of Medicine, “What
really shocked us was the gonads, the spleen, liver -- every tissue we
looked at was made better with the exercise. It has a systemic effect
and even prevented a slight shrinkage of the brain.”
The mice in the study were genetically engineered to have an
age-inducing defect in their cell powerhouses, known as mitochondria. As
mitochondria age, less energy is generated for cells in the body to run
on. The mice were assigned to either an exercise or non-exercise group.
The exercise group was forced to jog at a brisk pace on a treadmill for 45 minutes, three times weekly.
After a five-month period, the researchers found that prevention of
premature aging had occurred among all the mice in the exercise group.
While these mighty mice remained active and looked as young as ever, the
sedentary mice were inactive, more socially isolated, and less fertile,
as well as balding and turning gray. Whereas the muscle tissue of the
active mice was found to be completely normal, the tissue of the
inactive mice showed signs of damage.
But the biggest discovery was seen in the mitochondria of the morphed
mice. The mitochondria among these mice had gone from damaged to young
and healthy. Experts have long-suspected that the accumulation of
mitochondrial DNA mutations over the lifespan leads to the progressive
decline in tissue and organ function, which results in aging.
Tarnopolsky noted that the results of the study are applicable to
humans and he is hopeful that the outcome for the exercising mice will
motivate people to get on the move. He remarked, “When you see the video
with the mice barely moving and their sisters moving around healthy,
that may shock them into getting their butts off the couch and get some exercise.”
Previous studies on genetically engineered, premature-aging mice have
included calorie restriction and a variety of drugs that have had far
less promising results. Regarding the benefits of exercise on health,
Tarnopolsky pointed out, “Many people falsely believe that the benefits
of exercise will be found in a pill. We have clearly shown that there is
no substitute for the ‘real thing’ of exercise when it comes to
protection from aging.” source healthnews
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