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Regular cycling helps patients with ‘accelerated aging’ disease

Cycling for 35 minutes three times a week for 12 weeks led to a 32 per cent increase in overall fitness in people with MD

Date:
April 11, 2022
Source:
McMaster University
Summary:
Patients who took part in the study saw a 1.6-kilogram increase in their muscle mass and a two per cent reduction of body fat. They were also able to walk an extra 47 meters in six minutes, when tested by researchers at the end of the 12-week trial. Eleven patients took part in the study.
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A study led by McMaster University researchers has found that regular cycling can greatly improve mobility in patients with myotonic dystrophy (MD), a genetic disease that causes muscle degeneration.

Senior author Mark Tarnopolsky said that cycling for 35 minutes three times a week for 12 weeks led to a 32 per cent increase in overall fitness in people with MD.

Patients who took part in the study also saw a 1.6-kilogram increase in their muscle mass and a two per cent reduction of body fat. They were also able to walk an extra 47 metres in six minutes, when tested by researchers at the end of the 12-week trial.

Tarnopolsky's team recruited 11 patients with MD to examine how effective cycling was in restoring and maintaining their physical health. Researchers also studied the underlying molecular mechanisms through which exercise strengthens the skeletal muscles, which can be severely weakened by MD.

"Exercise really is medicine -- we just need to get the message out," said Tarnopolsky, a professor of the departments of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster.

"Myotonic dystrophy is a progressive condition that will impair your mobility and can put you in a wheelchair. There is no cure for it and only regular exercise helps you achieve better function."

Tarnopolsky said that some patients with MD are even advised by their doctors not to exercise, for fear of making their condition worse, but that is now proven false.

The study authors say previous research on mouse models showed a range of similar physiological benefits from regular exercise.

Tarnopolsky said that MD is the most commonly diagnosed type of muscular dystrophy in adults, and the second most prevalent of all muscular dystrophies.

MD's main symptoms include severe skeletal muscle atrophy, general muscle weakness, reduced lung capacity and impaired heart function. Other symptoms may include cataracts, endocrine disorders including diabetes and gastro-intestinal disorders. Roughly 19,000 Canadians live with either MD or another type of muscular dystrophy, Tarnopolsky said.

"MD itself is really a form of accelerated aging," said Tarnopolsky.

The study was published recently in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

External funding for this study was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.


Story Source:

Materials provided by McMaster University. Original written by Fram Dinshaw. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Andrew I. Mikhail, Peter L. Nagy, Katherine Manta, Nicholas Rouse, Alexander Manta, Sean Y. Ng, Michael F. Nagy, Paul Smith, Jian-Qiang Lu, Joshua P. Nederveen, Vladimir Ljubicic, Mark A. Tarnopolsky. Aerobic exercise elicits clinical adaptations in myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients independent of pathophysiological changes. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2022; DOI: 10.1172/JCI156125

Cite This Page:

McMaster University. "Regular cycling helps patients with ‘accelerated aging’ disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 April 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220411120711.htm>.
McMaster University. (2022, April 11). Regular cycling helps patients with ‘accelerated aging’ disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220411120711.htm
McMaster University. "Regular cycling helps patients with ‘accelerated aging’ disease." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220411120711.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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