New Drug Candidate Improves Endurance

A new drug designed by researchers at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) can raise endurance levels in animal test models. The drug, if proven to work on humans, can help people who suffer from obesity and at a risk of heart failure, exercise without any concerns.

The new drug compound called SR9009 is part of a pair of drug candidates developed by the researchers. The drugs work by altering the biological clock of the body. They especially affect a molecule called Rev-erbα. The molecule is highly active in the liver, skeletal muscle, adipose tissue and the brain where it regulates the circadian rhythm of the tissues.

In the study, researchers found that, the drug increased the running capacity by 50 times. The drug activated Rev-erbα in the animals and led to increased metabolic activity in the skeletal muscles.  According to the researchers, the drug works by increasing the production of mitochondria (power house) in the cells and also removing the defective mitochondria.

"The animals actually get muscles like an athlete who has been training. The pattern of gene expression after treatment with SR9009 is that of an oxidative-type muscle- again, just like an athlete," Thomas Burris from The Scripps Research Institute, said in  a press release.

The study was published July 14, 2013, by the journal Nature Medicine.