Hope for Drug to Reduce Old-Age-Related Muscle Wasting

Guest Post – Lily Bryant

The results of a study carried out by researchers at the Center of Regenerative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA, and the Department of Craniofacial Development and Stem Cell Biology at King’s College London, England, indicate that a cure for muscle weakening caused by old age might be on the horizon. Muscle wasting is an inevitable symptom of growing older. It can be slowed down by regularly exercising but there is no known way of reversing it at the moment. This looks set to change though, as the researchers have treated old mice with a drug that has significantly improved the ability of their aged muscle tissue to self-repair. 

Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 

Strenuous activity, such as doing press-ups or lifting weights, results in a small level of damage to the muscles. Stem cells are triggered to repair them by dividing and developing into new muscle fibers. This results in big arms and rippling torsos. However, weakening of the muscles due to old age means that bulging biceps can soon become puny and weak. This occurs because as people grow older, their muscle loses its ability to regenerate. A study conducted by the University of Potsdam in Germany indicates that people lose just under a third of their muscle strength between the ages of fifty and seventy. The researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and King’s College London deduced that this is due to the fact that the number of dormant stem cells in muscles decreases with age. They concluded that in mice, this was caused by excessively high levels of a protein that stimulates cells to divide, known as fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2). 

Preventing Muscle Stem Cell Decline 

In aging muscle, fibroblast growth factor 2 was found to be continuously awakening dormant stem cells for no reason. The stem cell supply was observed to deplete over time, meaning that an insufficient number were available when they were really needed. As a result of this, muscle regeneration ability was impaired. The researchers discovered that using a drug called SU5402 that inhibits fibroblast growth factor 2 can prevent muscle stem cell decline in aging mice. Treating the elderly rodents with this drug increased their ability to repair muscle tissue. 

Reducing the Impact of Old Age 

Dr Albert Basson, who is a senior researcher at King’s College London, has stated that the findings mean that treatments that could make old muscles young again could one day be developed, thus reducing the impact of old age. He says that if such a treatment came into existence, people would be able to live more independent, mobile lives as they grew older. Senior author Dr Andrew Brack of Massachusetts General Hospital says that just as it is important for athletes to schedule recovery into the time that is taken for training, stem cells require time in which to recuperate but elderly cells recuperate less often. Scientists are yet to figure out why it is that levels of fibroblast growth factor 2 increase causing excessive stem cell activation as people get older. Research team member Kieran Jones of King’s College London says that the next step is to conduct an analysis of old muscle in humans in order to see whether or not the same mechanism is responsible for the depletion of stem cells in human muscle fibers leading to wasting and loss of mass. 

The Implications of the Research 

Once it has been confirmed that stem cells in human muscle fibers are negatively affected by fibroblast growth factor 2, work can start on introducing a drug to the market that will stop the process from taking place and consequently reduce the extent to which elderly people are immobilized and prevented from doing what they want to do by the effects of age-related muscle weakening. The average life expectancy in India has increased by over four and a half years since 1998. Now that people are living longer than they used to live for, a drug that reduces the amount to which becoming elderly negatively impacts upon the quality people’s lives would be extremely beneficial. It would mean that individuals who have reached the later stages of their lives could enjoy the time that they have left without having their independence limited by their muscles becoming increasingly weak and feeble.

About Lily Bryant

Lily Bryant is a writer working with one of only two licensed online pharmacies in the US. She is strongly interested in promoting and creating content aimed at relevant readers as part of her role in ethical healthcare business. She believes that it is important that we play a strong role in leading society towards a healthier lifestyle through the promotion of exercise and healthy diet rather than an early adoption of drug treatment.

Harmless Viruses Might be a Potential Treatment for Acne

Guest Post – Lily Bryant

According to a report published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology, there are thought to be between two million and three million acne sufferers in India. Acne can lead to low self-esteem and image problems and is the scourge of teenage boys all over the country. Fortunately towards the end of 2012, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh in the United States discovered that phages living on our skin possess the ability to kill propionibacterium acnes, which is the virus that causes it. This could be good news for those whose skin is tarnished by this condition and mean that an end is in sight.

There has been a rapid increase in the promotion of drugs aimed at enhancing individuals’ physical appearances in recent years. The weight loss industry has grown at a yearly rate of over twenty-five percent, with more people than ever purchasing diet pills and fat burners, the hair loss treatment industry has been growing by one percent per year and the acne treatment industry has also seen significant growth. People’s daily lives are affected in a major way by how they look so a cure for acne could be both highly profitable for the pharmaceutical company that is responsible for it and highly beneficial to sufferers.

Immune Resistance Unlikely to Develop

In order to arrive at their discovery, the researchers at the two universities analysed phages and deduced that they make endolysin, which breaks down propionibacterium acnes before killing it. They also discovered that the phages shared eighty-five percent of their DNA. This is unusual for viruses and means that when used as a treatment, it would be unlikely that immune resistance would develop.

Advantages Over Other Forms of Treatment

Unlike antibiotics, which kill many different types of bacteria including ones that live in the gut and can have positive effects, phages are programmed to only target specific bacteria. According to director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Clinic for Acne, Rosacea and Aesthetics Dr Jenny Kim, who was one of the researchers, many acne strains are now resistant to antibiotics such as tetracycline, as they are so widely used. Drugs like Accutane are still effective but can have risky side effects, which limits their use. The researchers at the two universities have stated that phages could offer a tailored therapy that has less adverse side effects. Therefore phages could be the new form of acne medication that those inflicted with the condition have been looking for.

Development of New Drugs and Treatments 

Study co-author Graham Hatfull, who is a biotechnology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, has stated that there are two ways in which this research could be used with regards to the development of new drugs and treatments. He says that phages could either be used directly as therapy for acne or phage-based components could be utilized. Professor Hatfull also says that the work that the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh have carried out has provided the world with useful information about phages and paved the way for the thinking up of potential applications for them. He points out that whilst acne is a condition that a significant percentage of the population is likely to suffer from at some point in their lives, there are still currently few effective methods for curing it. Hatfull says that harnessing a virus that naturally preys upon the bacteria that causes spots looks to be a promising means of reducing both the physical and the mental scars that acne can inflict upon individuals.

Implications of the Research

It appears that being forced to endure pimples and spots could soon bee a thing of the past. The results of a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2010 demonstrate that acne can severely negatively impact upon the self-esteem of sufferers and increase the risk of them developing psychological disorders. It can make them two to three times more likely to become clinically depressed. Therefore it is high time that there was a means of treating it and phages could provide the answer. Now it is just a matter of deciding what the best way of using them to gain the optimum results in acne reduction is.

About Lily Bryant

Lily Bryant is a writer working with one of only two licensed online pharmacies in the US. She is strongly interested in promoting and creating content aimed at relevant readers as part of her role in ethical healthcare business. She believes that it is important that we play a strong role in leading society towards a healthier lifestyle through the promotion of exercise and healthy diet rather than an early adoption of drug treatment.