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Running, swimming, cycling: ugh, they’re all so much effort. Wouldn’t it be just great if you could magically boost your motivation to exercise? Well, soon you might be able to, because scientists have discovered a compound that could do just that.
In a series of experiments in mice, a team of researchers from the Zurich Centre for Integrative Human Physiology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland has found that erythropoietin (Epo) — a hormone present in small quantities in the human brain — makes the rodents more motivated to exercise.
The scientists took three kinds of mice: those that received no treatment, those that were injected with human Epo, and those that were genetically modified to produce human Epo in the brain. Compared to mice that didn’t have Epo, both of the other groups exercised harder. The results are published in FASEB.
The researchers suggest that it should be possible to produce a similar effect in humans by increasing the concentration of Epo in the brain — though some form of pill or injection. What’s more, that sounds entirely plausible, seeing as though it’s a hormone that occurs naturally in the human body.
As with any study like this, though, you’re not going to be knocking back exercise drugs just yet. But if the researchers can tie elevated Epo levels to a propensity to exercise in humans — say, in a population of athletes — then the waiting line for Epo pills is sure going to be a long one. [FASEB via EurekAlert]
Image credit: Exercise from Shutterstock
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ill go for the classic “shut up and take my money”
Haven’y pro-cyclists been using EPO for years, usually accompanied by a two year doping ban?
It’s the very same stuff.
EPO basically instructs your body to increase your red blood cell count, and therefore gives you an abundance of haemoglobin, which in turn allows for better oxygen absorption and availability during aerobic exercise as per:
Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide + Water (+ Energy)
Athletes can legitimately increase their red blood cell count by denying their body oxygen (usually achieved by training at altitude), at which point the body produces its own EPO.
Many cyclists got away with EPO abuse throughout the 90s until in 2000 a test was devised that could differentiate between synthetic EPO and the natural hormone through Blood/Urine tests.
I think this trial is simply suggesting that EPO somehow motivates you to exercise…I suspect that if I didn’t get so tired and out of breath when running…I might run more. Which for me consigns the entire study to the realm of ‘stating the bleedin’ obvious’.