Print
Hits: 3732
Times Of India
16 April 2009

Damage to Muscle Activates healing ProcessDamage to Muscle Activates healing Process
Damaged muscles often heal themselves within a week in most people, according to a discovery by researchers.

Muscles are damaged when they are used as brakes, as in downhill walking, where leg muscles are forced to repeatedly contract against gravity.

This allows calcium ions to flood into the muscle cells through minute holes in the surface membrane, triggering widespread damage inside the muscle cells. But, La Trobe University researchers have shown that in normal people this turns on an important cellular repair process.

Graham Lamb, a professor and Robyn Murphy of La Trobe have discovered that the influx of calcium activates a molecule called calpain–3, the day after exercise to repair muscle tissues.

The molecule does such a good job that if the same exercise is repeated a week later it will cause no further discomfort.

“It’s unclear how the mechanism works,” Lamb said. “Does calpain–3 actually reprogramme the muscle? This is a question for further research.”

Lamb’s team’s discovery of the role of calpain–3 in muscle repair helps explain cumulative damage in people lacking it, who develop the ‘limb–girdle’ form of muscular disease because their muscles progressively degenerate through daily wear and tear, said a La Trobe release.

Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.