Scientists have successfully tested a drug on mice that could deliver some of the benefits of exercise, even to sedentary people. In tests, mice were able to run 44 percent farther, suggesting humans may be able to do the same without prior training, researchers reported in the journal Cell.
The two drugs, labelled AICAR and GW1516, appear to be able to build muscle, increase stamina, and even burn fat.
Lead researcher professor Ronald Evans, from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Salk Institute in California, wrote in the journal that mice given the drug not only had greater endurance but also remained lean even when fed a high fat diet.
Researchers now believe that such a drug might help treat obesity, diabetes and people with medical conditions that keep them from exercising. It could also help reverse the muscle frailty associated with aging, or diseases such as muscular dystrophy.
The drugs are in advanced human testing to see if it can prevent a complication of heart bypass surgery.
However, scientists warned that the pills are a new threat to the Beijing Olympics as they are already available and can be easily synthesised, but there is no existing test to reveal their presence. The scientists are now working in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency to develop a blood or urine test for the drugs.
