A study published in Cell in 2018 explored the cellular mechanisms behind vascular aging and the impact on muscle health.
As we age, our smallest blood vessels wither and die, reducing blood flow and impairing the oxygen supply of organs and tissues. Vascular aging is responsible for a variety of disorders, such as weakened heart and nerve function, muscle loss, slow wound healing and overall weakness, among others.
Scientists have known that impaired blood flow to organs and tissues leads to a buildup of toxins and oxygen deprivation. Endothelial cells are where blood vessels connect and are essential for the health and development of blood vessels by providing blood rich in oxygen and nutrients. But as these endothelial cells age, the blood vessels shrink and new blood vessels cannot form. This leads to a gradual decrease in blood flow to most parts of the body. This effect especially affects the muscles, which are rich in blood vessels and depend on a rich blood supply to function.
Muscles begin to atrophy and weaken with age, a condition called sarcopenia. This process can be slowed with regular exercise, but eventually even exercise becomes less effective in preventing this weakening.
What exactly causes reduced blood flow and promotes this inevitable decline? Why does even exercise lose its protective ability to maintain muscle vitality? Can this process be reversed? That is the headache from Senior Researcher David Sinclair - Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and colleagues.
The team administered NMN to a group of 20-month-old mice over two months – the equivalent of 70 human years. Treatment with NMN restored blood capillary number and density to that in younger mice. Muscle blood flow also increased and was significantly higher than in mice of the same age not given NMN.
However, the most striking effect appeared in the functional ability of old mice. The study found that these animals were 56 to 80 percent more active than mice that were not supplemented with NMN. Animals supplemented with NMN ran an average of 430 meters, or about 1,400 feet, compared to an average of 240 meters, or 780 feet, for the group that did not receive NMN .
Interestingly, NMN adjuvant therapy did not improve blood vessel density and mobility in young sedentary mice. However, it did promote blood vessel formation and performance in young mice that had been exercised regularly for a month. According to Professor David Sinclair, this method stimulates blood vessel growth, enhances exercise endurance in mice, and also creates the foundation for human therapies to address diseases arising from vascular aging.
NMN therapy supports muscle function recovery
This research could pave the way for advances in therapy for millions of older people, when regular physical activity is not an optimal choice. On the other hand, in addition to supporting the recovery of muscle function and movement, NMN therapy also supports the development of new blood vessels, limiting the occurrence of heart attacks and ischemic strokes.