# Pills To Replace Exercising Could Soon Become Reality



## Ernest Nagel (Aug 1, 2008)

Bad news for FA's?

*Update: Pills To Replace Exercising Could Soon Become Reality *
By Anna Boyd 
14:04, August 1st 2008 

What can be greater than taking a pill that would make your fat disappear and your muscle work as if you were doing aerobic but actually, you werent? What can be greater than that? Two pills that can do that for you discovered by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in La Jolla, California led by Prof. Ronald Evans. 



Its true that the pills were tried only on lab mice, but there is a great chance that one day the pills would work on humans too, the scientists believe. Moreover, Prof. Evans believes the pills should help people who are too frail to exercise and those with health problems like, obesity, diabetes that are improved with exercise. Keeping the body in great shape and fat-free, it reduces the risk of various types of cancers and heart disease as well. The pills could also help reverse the muscle frailty associated with aging, or disease such as muscular dystrophy. 


The two breakthrough pills, as they were called, are labeled AICAR and GW1516. AICAR licensed by Schering-Plough Corp. is currently studied in humans to help control bleeding during open-heart surgery. GW1516 used to be developed by GlaxoSmithKline as a drug against dyslipidemia, a disorder affecting cholesterol. However, side effects of the drug, made the company give up producing it. 


Four years ago, Prof. Evans and colleagues reported that they boosted endurance in mice by tweaking a mouse gene to boost the activity of a protein called PPAR-delta. Then the researchers tried to get the same result but this time without genetic engineering. More exactly, they squirted GW1516 into mices mouths every day for a month. GW1516 boosts PPAR-delta and the mice who were given the pill were exercising. At the end of the month, the researchers were surprised to find out that the mice ran 68 percent longer and 70 percent farther compared to when the experiment began. On the other hand, mice that were given GW1516, but were not exercising saw no improvements, the researchers found. 


Then the researchers focused on another protein called AMPK and did the same experiment for a month this time giving the mice a daily injection of AICAR, which boosts AMPK. The mice involved in the experiment were not working. At the end of the follow-up period, mice given AICAR ran 23 percent longer and 44 percent farther than those who werent given anything. 


If you like exercise, you like the idea of getting more bang for your buck. If you dont like exercise, you love the idea of getting the benefits from a pill, Prof. Evans said in a statement. 


How exactly the pills worked to lead to such good results is not a mystery. The researchers noted that the drug seemed to change the physical composition of muscle by burning the excessive fat, the same thing that happens in distance runners or those with intensive training in different sports. 


And if the pills had such good results in mice, why shouldnt they work the same in humans? The researchers have strong believes that they will reach that day when the pill will be beneficial for humans as well. Of course, there is a but in every discovery. However wonderful the benefits of the two pills are, the researchers fear that they could be misused in sports. And with the Beijing Olympics approaching, the researcher fear about the potential for abuse by athletes present in the competition, especially that the pills can be easily synthesized in any laboratory. 


Especially for this reason, Prof. Evans has devised a test to detect whether an athlete has taken the drugs and has made it available to the World Anti-Doping Agency, which prepares a list of forbidden substances for the International Olympic Committee. Anti-doping officials confirmed the collaboration with Prof. Evans on a test that screens athletes blood and urine for even the tiniest traces of the two substances, but could not say when they would start using it. 


Thanks to the much appreciated cooperation of Ron Evans and his team at the Salk Institute, WADA received key information in advance in order to develop and implement ways to detect these molecules, a statement of the agency read. 


Prof. Evans findings come at a short time after another experiment on mice showed that those fed with a diet supplemented with resveratrol did not live longer than other mice but were far healthier in several important measures. The compounds, usually found in red wine, but also in the crust of peanuts and walnuts, in grapes, blueberries, peanut butter, pistachios and other foods appeared to ward off the effects of aging on heart, bones, eyes and muscle of mice, improving conditions that make the elderly very frail like cataracts, osteoporosis and poor motor coordination.






© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia


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## Waxwing (Aug 4, 2008)

that is profoundly disturbing.


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## thatgirl08 (Aug 4, 2008)

It seems kind of scary, because it's so..unnatural. But hell, give me a few. I'd be willing to give it a shot.


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## CausticSodaPop (Aug 11, 2008)

Ernest Nagel said:


> "What can be greater than taking a pill that would make your fat disappear and your muscle work as if you were doing aerobic but actually, you werent? What can be greater than that?"


What can be greater?

How about enjoying the movement of your body in time to an exquisite piece of music; feeling the wind against your face as you cycle downhill at speed; experiencing near weightlessness in the blue-green water of the sea; seeing view after stunning view when out hiking in the countryside; the serene, gliding sensation as you rhythmically paddle a canoe across a quiet, still stretch of water; the sense of achievement after chopping up all the wood you'll need for the winter?

How can a pill replace these things? How can anyone believe that the chief good of exercise is because it might "make your fat disappear"? I pity those who do feel that way. No matter what their size, it must just feel as though they are trapped in a titanic struggle with their own bodies. They might win a battle or two through pounding joylessly away on a treadmill, but they will never win what they have come to perceive as "the war".


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## Dr. Feelgood (Aug 11, 2008)

Ernest Nagel said:


> Bad news for FA's?
> 
> *Update: Pills To Replace Exercising Could Soon Become Reality *
> By Anna Boyd
> ...





CausticSodaPop said:


> What can be greater?
> 
> How about enjoying the movement of your body in time to an exquisite piece of music; feeling the wind against your face as you cycle downhill at speed; experiencing near weightlessness in the blue-green water of the sea; seeing view after stunning view when out hiking in the countryside; the serene, gliding sensation as you rhythmically paddle a canoe across a quiet, still stretch of water; the sense of achievement after chopping up all the wood you'll need for the winter?



Er...would you two happen to be virgins, by any chance?


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## CausticSodaPop (Aug 12, 2008)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> Er...would you two happen to be virgins, by any chance?


:doh: How could I forget that one?!


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## sayon (Sep 8, 2008)

that will make you more lazy than ever, you can lose weight for sure but you should remember that your body contains many other parts and organs which need to be in good health to function such as your lungs and heart! only exercise is for sure going to keep you in good health, a healthy heart and lungs! not pills! im sure that most of the people will agree to that!


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## JMNYC (Sep 8, 2008)

I feel the same about this as I do about software that lets anyone with tin ears play the guitar or software that writes a script for you.

"Everyone want the most they can get/For the least they can possibly do."
Todd Snider, "Easy Money"


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## toni (Sep 8, 2008)

Sign me up for this and that exercise workout George Jetson used to do.


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## MsGreenLantern (Sep 8, 2008)

CausticSodaPop said:


> What can be greater?
> 
> How about enjoying the movement of your body in time to an exquisite piece of music; feeling the wind against your face as you cycle downhill at speed; experiencing near weightlessness in the blue-green water of the sea; seeing view after stunning view when out hiking in the countryside; the serene, gliding sensation as you rhythmically paddle a canoe across a quiet, still stretch of water; the sense of achievement after chopping up all the wood you'll need for the winter?



When I think exercise I think the pain in my feet and knees from jogging, the soreness after a weigh session, and the shade of purple my cheeks turn when I'm tired. I like hiking, canoing, and swimming as much as the next person, and I doubt any of those activities will see much of a change due to this sort of pill. Most people do those things because they're fun more than the other benefits.

Depending on those side effects I'd take it for a short while just so I could have a little less pressing on my weak ankles and knees. I love to hike and play tennis and all, so it could allow me to regulate myself to say, 250 or something instead of 300 where I am now. 

Science boggles my mind anymore. People will eventually worship it instead of God if these sorts of things keep up.


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## Dr. Feelgood (Sep 8, 2008)

MsGreenLantern said:


> Science boggles my mind anymore. People will eventually worship it instead of God if these sorts of things keep up.




Don't you mean instead of celebrities?


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## No-No-Badkitty (Sep 8, 2008)

News headline from the year 2050.

Zombie America

Only ten years ago AICAR and GW1516 were a celebrated miracle drug that would go on to change the world. 
Little did we know how much it would actually change.
When the first dozen or so individuals reported strange and disturbing side effects no one really took notice. After all AICAR and GW1516 had been thoroughly tested and retested and found safe for human use. The only problem is that no one truly understood the long term side effects especially those to affect future generations.
On Feburary 16 2032, the first of the zombie children were born. The mutated hyper muscular, ravousious flesh eating offspring of both mothers and fathers that chose to take AICAR and GW1516.....




Sorry...couldn't help myself....


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