Adding to the benefits of regular and vigorous exercise, the researchers have found that vigorous exercise can activate dormant stem cells in the heart, which heal the damage caused by a heart attack.
The study by Liverpool John Moores University has conducted this study that is the first to suggest that a simple exercise programme has a similar effect like stem cells, when they are cajoled into producing new tissues through special shots.
Vigorous exercises include 30 minutes of running or cycling daily, enough to work up a sweat, says the European Heart Journal.
During study, researchers observed that the healthy rats showed that an equivalent amount of exercise resulted in producing more than 60 percent of heart stem cells, usually dormant in adults, becoming active, the Telegraph reports say.
Two weeks of exercise showed a seven percent increase in the number of cardiomyocites the mice had, the "beating" cells in heart tissue.
The team of researchers said they would now study the effects on mice which had suffered heart attacks to find out whether its benefits are even better.
Georgina Ellison, from the John Moores University lead the study, said: "The exercise is increasing the growth factors which are activating the stem cells to go on and repair the heart, and this is the first time that this potential has been shown.
"We hope it might be even more effective in damaged hearts because you have got more reason to replace the large amount of cells that are lost," Ellison said.
Some patients with severe heart damage may not be capable of intensive exercise, Ellison said a large number of the patients can jog or cycle for 30 minutes a day and there will be no risk to their health.
Jeremy Pearson, professor and associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, said: "However, much more research is now needed to find out whether what's been seen in this study can be translated into treatments for human patients."
--with inputs from IANS
|
|
Comments:
