Science

Elevated levels of human hormone motivates mice to exercise

Elevated levels of human hormone motivates mice to exercise
Mice injected with human Epo were motivated to exercise more (Photo: Shutterstock)
Mice injected with human Epo were motivated to exercise more (Photo: Shutterstock)
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Mice injected with human Epo were motivated to exercise more (Photo: Shutterstock)
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Mice injected with human Epo were motivated to exercise more (Photo: Shutterstock)

If listening to Eye of The Tiger at full bore isn’t enough to get you off your backside to blast those glutes and pump those biceps anymore, then drugs might be the answer. A team of Swiss researchers has discovered that raising the levels of the hormone erythropoietin (Epo) in the brains of mice resulted in the rodents being more motivated to exercise. The discovery provides the possibility of developing a pill that can motivate people to want to exercise.

The study, carried out by Max Gassmann, D.V.M. and colleagues from the Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse-Faculty and Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, involved three groups of mice. One group received no treatment, the second was injected with human Epo, and the third was genetically modified to produce human Epo in the brain.

The study showed that the second and third groups showed significantly higher running performance compared to the first group that had received no treatment, with both the groups of mice with elevated levels of human Epo in the brain also not experiencing elevated red blood cell counts.

Gassmann theorizes that Epo has a general effect on mood, meaning it might not only be a promising treatment to encourage exercise and therefore weight loss, but might also offer potential benefits in patients suffering from depression, Alzheimer’s and related diseases for which increased physical activity is known to have beneficial effects.

While the effects of the study are yet to be replicated in human subjects, Epo joins a gorwing list of compounds, such as PRDM16 and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), which could form the basis of future drug treatments to fight obesity.

Source: FASEB Journal

4 comments
4 comments
Kallieharie
I can't help but wonder if the analysis was thorough. Did they exclude the fact that maybe Epo just encouraged the mice to 'perform'/achieve? Running on the mill could mean a lot of things for the mice, not only the desire to train. IMH(unqualified)O
getting2better
So if I understand this correctly Epo has "a general effect on mood, meaning it might not only be a promising treatment to encourage exercise and therefore weight loss, but might also offer potential benefits in patients suffering from depression". Further. "Epo joins a growing list of compounds..... which could form the basis of future drug treatments to fight obesity."
Even if Lance Armstrong loses his latest defense against doping he can always fall back on "well I took Epo because I was lacking motivation and was trying to fight obesity."
I like it. Kind of a win/win for him. I sense a new wrist band. What concerns us as a nation astounds me.
Carlos Grados
So if the human body can already make this why do we need a pill? I bet when you take the pill there will be a long list of side effects-like always!
Nicky Hansard
I wish society wasn't so antsy about gene manipulation. I can understand resistance to manipulation of inheritable gene changed though (to an extent).
E.g. the way they casually make the remark about being able to genetically manipulate the brains of the mice to produce EPO is breathtaking in of itself. Why can't we have a disclaimer of 'We do not accept any responsibility for the results of this treatment'. Allowing people to see genetic researchers and have procedures done to manipulate myostatin production, EPO, dopamine sensitivity, insulin sensitivity, metabolism.
The things that irrevocably work, with no drawbacks or negative consequences can than be designed to pass on to offspring.
E.g. If we found manipulating the gene responsible for the expression of myostatin to was only beneficial to enjoyment of life and had virtually zero consequences, than why the hell not?
If we managed to couple that with something that increased our endurance threshold and insulin sensitivity than humans would essentially be free of all the 'modern' diseases. Not to mention that if our strength, fitness and weight weren't entirely reliant on how much we eat or how much we exercise than people would in general enjoy life much more.