myokine tagged posts

When Muscles Work Out, they Help Neurons to Grow

Two textured green balls have a purple center.
Caption:In response to biochemical and physical cues of exercise, motor neurons (in purple) exhibit new growth (in green) faster than neurons that experience no exercise-induced cues.
Credits:Credit: Angel Bu

The findings suggest that biochemical and physical effects of exercise could help heal nerves. There’s no doubt that exercise does a body good. Regular activity not only strengthens muscles but can bolster our bones, blood vessels, and immune system.

Now, MIT engineers have found that exercise can also have benefits at the level of individual neurons. They observed that when muscles contract during exercise, they release a soup of biochemical signals called myokines...

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