There is a bit of cheery news for busy executives desirous of keeping fit without engaging in physical exercise. Research conducted in the United States by the journal Cell, has paved the way for the production of two pills that could build muscle, increase stamina and burn fat. Ronald Evans, lead researcher from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Salk Institute in California, has produced a test, which allows the drugs to be detected in the Urine and blood of competitors. He said the two drugs, Labelled AlCAR and GWI5I6, Appear to have an effect on a gene involved in the building and regulation of muscle. The concept is controversial because of fears they could be misused in sport.
Kennedy Asala, a physical fitness expert, said the drugs colud eventually help tackle muscle wasting diseases, or help improve the health benefits of exercise in people at risk of conditions such as diabetes. The drugs have only been tested on mice, but Evans believes that they could one day serve a purpose in humans. ” If you do not like exercise, you will probably love the idea of getting the benefits from a pill”. he explained, saying that the most obvious potential use is in conditions such as diabetes, where exercise is a proven benefit. ;”Almost no one gets the recommended 40 minutes to an hour per day of exercise for these people, if there is a way to mimic exercise, it would make the quality of exercise they do more efficient”, Evans said.
However, Colin Palmer, a professor of Pharmacogenetics at the University of Dundee, said that the idea of the drug had proved controversial. ” It is basically a drug that enhances training. The things that raises eyebrows is the concept of a drug that improves endurance training for sports professionals”, he argued.
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