Gliondrach
09-27-2008, 06:20 AM
Resistance Exercise Reverses Ageing in Human Skeletal Muscle
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Doug McGuff, MD recently posted an article on ultimate-exercise.com on the effects of resistance training on aging, calling attention to a study published in PLoS ONE showing a reversal of aging in over 500 genes. (Melov S, Tarnopolsky MA, Beckman K, Felkey K, Hubbard A (2007) Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle. PLoS ONE 2(5): e465. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000465)
Abstract
Human aging is associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and functional impairment (sarcopenia). Multiple lines of evidence suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is a major contributor to sarcopenia. We evaluated whether healthy aging was associated with a transcriptional profile reflecting mitochondrial impairment and whether resistance exercise could reverse this signature to that approximating a younger physiological age. Skeletal muscle biopsies from healthy older (N = 25) and younger (N = 26) adult men and women were compared using gene expression profiling, and a subset of these were related to measurements of muscle strength. 14 of the older adults had muscle samples taken before and after a six-month resistance exercise-training program. Before exercise training, older adults were 59% weaker than younger, but after six months of training in older adults, strength improved significantly (P<0.001) such that they were only 38% lower than young adults. As a consequence of age, we found 596 genes differentially expressed using a false discovery rate cut-off of 5%. Prior to the exercise training, the transcriptome profile showed a dramatic enrichment of genes associated with mitochondrial function with age. However, following exercise training the transcriptional signature of aging was markedly reversed back to that of younger levels for most genes that were affected by both age and exercise. We conclude that healthy older adults show evidence of mitochondrial impairment and muscle weakness, but that this can be partially reversed at the phenotypic level, and substantially reversed at the transcriptome level, following six months of resistance exercise training.
The full paper can be read here. CLICKABLE LINK IN THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE.
Towards the end of the intruduction, the paper states,
“We report here that healthy older adults show a gene expression profile in skeletal muscle consistent with mitochondrial dysfunction and associated processes such as cell death, as compared with young individuals. Moreover, following a period of resistance exercise training in older adults, we found that age-associated transcriptome expression changes were reversed, implying a restoration of a youthful expression profile.”
Notice they didn’t say that resistance training slowed or stopped the age-associated transcriptome (set of genetic instructions for how to build proteins) expression changes - it reversed them. Like Dr. McGuff says in his article, this is the closest thing there is to a fountain of youth. If everybody regularly engaged in proper strength training we’d have an elderly population far healthier, more independent, and enjoying a much greater all-around quality of life. Barring accidents, diseases and other disasters, most would probably also live significantly longer.
Dr. McGuff made an interesting observation based on the study that the low-intensity, long-duration aerobic “exercise” so often recommended as healthy activity may actually contribute to aging:
“If we embrace this concept of aging (the gap between maximal and minimal output), and the type of training that enhances this capability; then we must acknowledge that there is a type of exercise which can produce the opposite result. Low intensity, steady state exercise will actually accelerate aging by this definition.”
The explanation that follows is probably one of the strongest arguments I’ve read against traditional low-intensity, long-duration cardio. It’s too long to post here, so I strongly recommend going there and reading it. In a nutshell (and greatly oversimplified) the changes resulting from low-intensity, long-duration exercise may interfere with the type of exercise adaptations the above study has shown to reverse age-associated transcriptome expression changes
baye.com/resistance-exercise-reverses-aging/
Part of the Doug McGuff article mentioned above:
On May 23, 2007 a major stride in the quest for life extension occurred. Researchers Simon Melov et al announced a treatment that successfully reversed aging. (plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000465). This reversal occurred not in worms, fish, or rats; but actually occurred in human subjects. More importantly, this reversal was not simply a marker of aging, but an actual reversal toward normal youthful function at the genetic level. The researchers tested 596 genes that appeared to be markers of declining function as a result of age. Most of these genes were associated with mitochondrial function. This is important for two reasons. First, the mitochondria are the powerhouses for the cells of your body, they are the engine that makes us run. Secondly, mitochondrial DNA is easier to study with greater certainty of accuracy because all of your mitochondrial DNA comes only from your mother. As a consequence, differences in expression cannot be accounted for by the contribution of another person’s (i.e.-father’s) DNA that may react differently under experimental conditions. The study definitively identified 179 genes that were reversed by the intervention, and as the study stated “the transcriptional signature of aging was markedly reversed back to that of younger levels for most genes that were affected by both age and exercise”.
So what was this miracle treatment? The answer is STRENGTH TRAINING. Strength training performed twice a week for a period of 26 weeks. Even more amazing is that by standards of most people who participate in training facilities such as Ultimate Exercise, it was strength training that was done relatively poorly on substandard equipment. The researchers had subjects perform leg press, chest press, leg extension, leg flexion, shoulder press, lat pull-down, calf raise, abdominal crunch and back extension for 3 sets of 10 reps, and arm flexion and arm extension for 1 set of 10 reps. The equipment was Universal Gym, Inc. equipment. Resistance was based on 50% of a 1 rep max and progressed to 80% of a 1 rep max. Over the study period the subjects increased their strength by 50% which made them only 38% weaker than 25 year old cohorts.
While impressive, it is not uncommon for state of the art training facilities to more than double strength in elderly clients. We have an 83 year old that uses significantly more resistance than the average 25 year old off the street. When I hired my current manager Ed Garbe, I told him that within 12-16 weeks of training he would likely be stronger than he ever had been at any point in his life. During our last workout together, he admitted to having skepticism with regard to that statement but that he is now a believer. He said “this stuff is literally the fountain of youth”. Ed is 63 years old.
A New Definition of Aging
What is interesting about this landmark article is the genes that were identified to be related to aging were genes that were largely involved in synthesizing enzymes of anaerobic metabolism or transporting anaerobic substrate for aerobic use. What therefore appears to be a marker of youth, and consequently what gets lost with aging, is the ability to perform high-intensity anaerobic work.
ultimate-exercise.com/fountainofyouth.html
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Doug McGuff, MD recently posted an article on ultimate-exercise.com on the effects of resistance training on aging, calling attention to a study published in PLoS ONE showing a reversal of aging in over 500 genes. (Melov S, Tarnopolsky MA, Beckman K, Felkey K, Hubbard A (2007) Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle. PLoS ONE 2(5): e465. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000465)
Abstract
Human aging is associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and functional impairment (sarcopenia). Multiple lines of evidence suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is a major contributor to sarcopenia. We evaluated whether healthy aging was associated with a transcriptional profile reflecting mitochondrial impairment and whether resistance exercise could reverse this signature to that approximating a younger physiological age. Skeletal muscle biopsies from healthy older (N = 25) and younger (N = 26) adult men and women were compared using gene expression profiling, and a subset of these were related to measurements of muscle strength. 14 of the older adults had muscle samples taken before and after a six-month resistance exercise-training program. Before exercise training, older adults were 59% weaker than younger, but after six months of training in older adults, strength improved significantly (P<0.001) such that they were only 38% lower than young adults. As a consequence of age, we found 596 genes differentially expressed using a false discovery rate cut-off of 5%. Prior to the exercise training, the transcriptome profile showed a dramatic enrichment of genes associated with mitochondrial function with age. However, following exercise training the transcriptional signature of aging was markedly reversed back to that of younger levels for most genes that were affected by both age and exercise. We conclude that healthy older adults show evidence of mitochondrial impairment and muscle weakness, but that this can be partially reversed at the phenotypic level, and substantially reversed at the transcriptome level, following six months of resistance exercise training.
The full paper can be read here. CLICKABLE LINK IN THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE.
Towards the end of the intruduction, the paper states,
“We report here that healthy older adults show a gene expression profile in skeletal muscle consistent with mitochondrial dysfunction and associated processes such as cell death, as compared with young individuals. Moreover, following a period of resistance exercise training in older adults, we found that age-associated transcriptome expression changes were reversed, implying a restoration of a youthful expression profile.”
Notice they didn’t say that resistance training slowed or stopped the age-associated transcriptome (set of genetic instructions for how to build proteins) expression changes - it reversed them. Like Dr. McGuff says in his article, this is the closest thing there is to a fountain of youth. If everybody regularly engaged in proper strength training we’d have an elderly population far healthier, more independent, and enjoying a much greater all-around quality of life. Barring accidents, diseases and other disasters, most would probably also live significantly longer.
Dr. McGuff made an interesting observation based on the study that the low-intensity, long-duration aerobic “exercise” so often recommended as healthy activity may actually contribute to aging:
“If we embrace this concept of aging (the gap between maximal and minimal output), and the type of training that enhances this capability; then we must acknowledge that there is a type of exercise which can produce the opposite result. Low intensity, steady state exercise will actually accelerate aging by this definition.”
The explanation that follows is probably one of the strongest arguments I’ve read against traditional low-intensity, long-duration cardio. It’s too long to post here, so I strongly recommend going there and reading it. In a nutshell (and greatly oversimplified) the changes resulting from low-intensity, long-duration exercise may interfere with the type of exercise adaptations the above study has shown to reverse age-associated transcriptome expression changes
baye.com/resistance-exercise-reverses-aging/
Part of the Doug McGuff article mentioned above:
On May 23, 2007 a major stride in the quest for life extension occurred. Researchers Simon Melov et al announced a treatment that successfully reversed aging. (plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000465). This reversal occurred not in worms, fish, or rats; but actually occurred in human subjects. More importantly, this reversal was not simply a marker of aging, but an actual reversal toward normal youthful function at the genetic level. The researchers tested 596 genes that appeared to be markers of declining function as a result of age. Most of these genes were associated with mitochondrial function. This is important for two reasons. First, the mitochondria are the powerhouses for the cells of your body, they are the engine that makes us run. Secondly, mitochondrial DNA is easier to study with greater certainty of accuracy because all of your mitochondrial DNA comes only from your mother. As a consequence, differences in expression cannot be accounted for by the contribution of another person’s (i.e.-father’s) DNA that may react differently under experimental conditions. The study definitively identified 179 genes that were reversed by the intervention, and as the study stated “the transcriptional signature of aging was markedly reversed back to that of younger levels for most genes that were affected by both age and exercise”.
So what was this miracle treatment? The answer is STRENGTH TRAINING. Strength training performed twice a week for a period of 26 weeks. Even more amazing is that by standards of most people who participate in training facilities such as Ultimate Exercise, it was strength training that was done relatively poorly on substandard equipment. The researchers had subjects perform leg press, chest press, leg extension, leg flexion, shoulder press, lat pull-down, calf raise, abdominal crunch and back extension for 3 sets of 10 reps, and arm flexion and arm extension for 1 set of 10 reps. The equipment was Universal Gym, Inc. equipment. Resistance was based on 50% of a 1 rep max and progressed to 80% of a 1 rep max. Over the study period the subjects increased their strength by 50% which made them only 38% weaker than 25 year old cohorts.
While impressive, it is not uncommon for state of the art training facilities to more than double strength in elderly clients. We have an 83 year old that uses significantly more resistance than the average 25 year old off the street. When I hired my current manager Ed Garbe, I told him that within 12-16 weeks of training he would likely be stronger than he ever had been at any point in his life. During our last workout together, he admitted to having skepticism with regard to that statement but that he is now a believer. He said “this stuff is literally the fountain of youth”. Ed is 63 years old.
A New Definition of Aging
What is interesting about this landmark article is the genes that were identified to be related to aging were genes that were largely involved in synthesizing enzymes of anaerobic metabolism or transporting anaerobic substrate for aerobic use. What therefore appears to be a marker of youth, and consequently what gets lost with aging, is the ability to perform high-intensity anaerobic work.
ultimate-exercise.com/fountainofyouth.html