It seems too good to be true but maybe we don’t have to actually exercise anymore to get the benefits of exercise. A drug called AICAR, or acadesine, is in late-stage trials for prevention of problems that may occur during heart surgery. But it’s also been found to improve the cells of slow-twitch muscle fibers–the muscles involved in endurance activities, such as running. In fact, sedentary mice given this drug can run as if they were in great shape. Another drug known as GW1516 enables mice to run longer than mice not given the drug, but the effects were only seen when the mice got regular exercise. Some mice that exercised for a month while taking this drug could run 70% longer than mice not given the drug (source: The Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2008).
Since these drugs cause their effects on slow-twitch muscle fibers, as opposed to anabolic steroids which affect the fast-twitch fibers used for quick bursts of activity, there is a lot of excitement about the possibilities. Slow-twitch fibers burn fat as their primary energy source. So not only could you potentially run longer with the help of a pill, you might be able to burn more fat too. Clearly this is something the drug companies would love to market to a nation of people who are overweight, obese, and diabetic.
My first thoughts on this are that if something seems to good to be true, than it probably is. What kinds of side-effects will these drugs have? And what other kinds of new diseases will we see when instead of making lifestyle changes for our health, like eating better and being more active, we just pop a plethora of pills to treat the consequences of our choices? I’m also amazed at our willingness to take short-cuts. We just want the easy path. Already the researchers of these drugs are quick to point out that the pill’s effects are only on muscle fibers, so other benefits of exercise are not seen with these drugs, such as increase in mood, decrease in depression, and increased bone density. But I suppose if you wanted those benefits as well, you could simply add Prozac and Fosamax to your pill-popping routine.
