‘Exercise In A Pill’ That Could Mimic Effects Of Workouts Is In Development

Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have identified distinctive molecular messages in the human body that could lead to the creation of a supplement that replicates health benefits of workouts.

This discovery, made late last year, could hold the key to providing the upsides of exercise to patients who aren’t capable of participating in physical activity, such as those who suffer from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Associate Professor Riccardo Natoli, Head of Clear Vision Research at ANU, posited that eventually, these molecules could be “bottled up” in a pill and taken as supplements.

“The beneficial messages being sent to the central nervous system during exercise are packaged up in what are known as lipid particles. We are essentially prescribing the molecular message of exercise to those who physically aren’t able to,” Natoli explained.

“Our goal is to figure out what these molecules are communicating to the body, and how they’re communicating,” he added.

In addition to physical health, the scientists are looking into evidence that these internal messages could have a positive impact on eye and retinal health as well, publishing their findings in Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. 

According to Dr Joshua Chu-Tan, the team plans to further investigate how the signals are sent from the rest of the body to the brain and eyes, with some of the preliminary research seeming “promising.”

“We found the benefits of exercise extend far beyond what has traditionally been known, however this has been largely understudied in the retina, despite the retina being an extension of the brain,” he said.

If you’re thinking that this forthcoming pill could be the replacement for hours at the gym, it unfortunately will not be intended for release to the general public, but only those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.

“It’s been suggested that prescribing exercise to patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s can help improve and slow down the disease progression,” Chu-Tan remarked.

“We can’t possibly package all the effects of exercise into a single pill, there are too many benefits that stretch throughout the entire body beyond what we could ‘prescribe’ and that’s not the goal,” he revealed. 

[via The Australian National University, cover image via Javiindy | Dreamstime.com]