A natural hormone, des-acyl ghrelin, can prove effective to guard against muscle atrophy, which is one of the most common health complications in the world as per results of an animal study that were presented at The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Some of the currently indicated options to treat atrophy are muscle atrophy are anabolic steroids (testosterone) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IFG-1) but they cannot be termed as complete safe and effective, as per study co-author Andrea Graziani, PhD. and molecular biologist with the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine and the Biotechnology Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy.

From Sciencedaily.com:

In this new study, the researchers discovered that des-acyl ghrelin has a direct anti-atrophic activity on the skeletal muscle of mice with muscular atrophy caused by either denervation (nerve injury) or fasting. Mice that were genetically altered to have increased levels of des-acyl ghrelin had less skeletal muscle loss than the untreated control mice. This held true for both causes of muscular atrophy.

The mechanism by which des-acyl ghrelin protects muscle against atrophy is not yet known, the authors reported. However, it is distinct from the action of anabolic steroids and IGF-1.

The review was supported by Italian agencies: Telethon, Regione Piemonte, and Italian Ministry for University and Research. The study findings were presented by Nicoletta Filigheddu, a researcher at the University of Piemonte Orientale’s Biotechnology Center.