It is called irisin , it is found in the muscles and acts on the cells of adipose tissue, according to scientists from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (United States) in the latest issue of the journal Nature . It naturally occurs when we do regular physical exercise for several weeks , so its increase could be responsible for part of the benefits of sport for health. In addition, the increase in its concentration translates into a greater total energy expenditure . It could even increase life expectancy , rodent experiments suggest.
During the experiments, the experts put the mice to run on a wheel for three weeks and observed that the concentration of this hormone in their blood rose 65%. The scientists detected the same effects in several muscle samples taken from humans, before and after 10 weeks of supervised physical training.
"It is exciting to find a natural substance connected to exercise with such clear therapeutic potential ," says Pontus Bostroöm, co-author of the work. In fact, the researchers hope that in the future it will be possible to create a product from this hormone – called irisin in honor of Iris, the messenger of the Greek gods – for the treatment of diabetes and obesity, as well as to combat the Cancer.
