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REVIEW article

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Molecular and Cellular Pathology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1421566
This article is part of the Research Topic Current Trends in Muscle Diseases and Their Treatment Strategies View all 3 articles

Physical exercise in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a potential co-adjuvant therapeutic option to counteract disease progression

Provisionally accepted
Gianmarco Fenili Gianmarco Fenili 1,2Silvia Scaricamazza Silvia Scaricamazza 2Alberto Ferri Alberto Ferri 2,3Cristiana Valle Cristiana Valle 2,3Maria Paola Paronetto Maria Paola Paronetto 1,2*
  • 1 Foro Italico University of Rome, Rome, Italy
  • 2 Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS), Rome, Lazio, Italy
  • 3 Institute of Traslational Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Lazio, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder characterized by the selective degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. The mean survival time is two to five years. Although the hunt for drugs has greatly advanced over the past decade, no cure is available for ALS yet.The role of intense physical activity in the etiology of ALS has been debated for several decades without reaching a clear conclusion. The benefits of organized physical activity on fitness and mental health have been widely described. Indeed, by acting on specific mechanisms, physical activity can influence the physiology of several chronic conditions. It was shown to improve skeletal muscle metabolism and regeneration, neurogenesis, mitochondrial biogenesis, and antioxidant defense. Interestingly, all these pathways are involved in ALS pathology. This review will provide a broad overview of the effect of different exercise protocols on the onset and progression of ALS, both in humans and in animal models. Furthermore, we will discuss challenges and opportunities to exploit physiological responses of imposed exercise training for therapeutic purposes.

    Keywords: ALS, physical activity, muscle atrophy, neurodegenerative disease, Exercise

    Received: 22 Apr 2024; Accepted: 25 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fenili, Scaricamazza, Ferri, Valle and Paronetto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Maria Paola Paronetto, Foro Italico University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.