A study published in Scientific Reports by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, in partnership with colleagues in the United States and Norway, shows that the lack of muscle stimulus results in a buildup of inadequately processed proteins in muscle cells and consequently leads to muscle weakness or wasting.
This is a typical muscle dysfunction condition that affects the elderly or individuals suffering from sciatic nerve injury, something usually verified in bedridden patients or workers who spend long hours sitting.
From tests with rats with induced sciatic nerve injury — which, therefore, stopped receiving stimuli — researchers found that this buildup was caused by the impairment of autophagy, the cellular machinery responsible for identifying and removing damaged proteins and toxins. The analysis of a group of rats subjected to a regime of aerobic exercise training previous to the injury allowed the scientists to demonstrate that physical.
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