Boxing

Muscle atrophy

Searching for clues to improve muscle
fitness in the aging population

By Alyson Kenward
SPARK writer

It's well known that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreases with age. U of C researcher
Russ Hepple wants to know why and find ways to slow muscle atrophy.

Hepple, an hostinghostinghostingistant professor in the Faculties of Medicine and
Kinesiology, is studying cell death in muscle tissues in relation to
oxygen intake and diet.

"It was initially believed that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreased in the older
people because they were less active," says Hepple. "This isn't the
whole story."

Testing over the past 20 years has shown that muscle tissue
degenerates even in elderly people who maintain a high level of
activity.Hepple adds that muscle tissue is post-mitotic, meaning it
will not divide to produce more cells. Once cells in muscle tissue
die, they cannot be replaced.

"When you are building muscle through training you are not increasing
the number of muscle cells," he says. "You are increasing the size of
the cells already there."

This leads many people to mistakenly believe that muscle atrophy could
be avoided with resistance training, where increased cell size and
strength would balance the loss of cells. "Although we already knew
that cells die with age, it now looks as though many older muscle
cells produce less force, on a per mhostinghostinghosting basis," he says.

In other words, not only are there fewer functioning cells in your
muscles as you age, but they are also weaker.
But don't give up hope just yet, because Hepple is getting close to
understanding the root of the problem.

"I am particularly interested in the aerobic performance of muscle
cells," he says.

"Researchers know that there is a progressive decline in aerobic
performance with age," he says. "Not just because of your heart, but
also because of decreased mitochondria operation."

Mitochondria are the factory-centre of cells that produce energy
needed for work in muscles.

When oxygen is processed in cells to produce energy, a byproduct is
oxygen radicals – which are very reactive oxygen atoms with one
unpaired electron. Normally, most of these free radicals are disabled
by naturally occurring antioxidants in your cells. However, research
has shown that over a lifetime, some of these oxygen radicals can
react with mitochondrial DNA, disabling the mitochondria and
eventually leading to cell death.

So, as the dysfunction of mitochondria increases, muscle performance
decreases. "If we can slow dysfunction of mitochondria, we could also
decrease the loss of effectiveness of muscle work," says Hepple.

Previous research has shown that animals on a calorie-restricted diet
demonstrate lower free radical stress, have a better internal
"scavenging mechanism" to clean up free radicals and have healthier
mitochondria. They also live longer.
Hepple is in the process of conducting experiments with two sets of
rats. One group had no restrictions on their food intake. The other
group was given the required amount of daily nutrients, but was placed
on a calorie-restricted diet.
Hepple's preliminary findings support the idea that the lower
free-radical stress hostinghostinghostingociated with caloric restriction yields better
maintenance of muscle mhostinghostinghosting, mitochondrial function and muscle aerobic
performance with aging.

But while a calorie-restricted diet appears to be very beneficial in
combating the effects of aging, Hepple adds that this is not a
practical solution.

"This isn't a reality for the Big Mac generation," he says. "We eat
for a lot of social and pleasure reasons, and even I wouldn't go for
it."

In an upcoming project funded by the Canadian Inshostinghostinghostingutes of Health
Research, Hepple will study the effects of caloric restriction as a
means of fighting free radical damage and preserving muscle aerobic
performance with aging.
In the future, Hepple also wants to determine if antioxidant
supplementation in one's diet can improve muscle tissue fitness and
help maintain muscle performance in the older population.

You obviosuly can not comprehend what you quote, and the fact it relates
excatly ZERO to the discussion and the silly claims you have made.

How an article on the effect of aging can be interpreted to mean muscle
cells can't be re-generrated in general is beyond me. This is very basic
sh*t, and I am done enlightening the intellecutally lazy.

Buy a hostinghostinghostinghostinging book.

....pablo


"Kenneth Leja" <> wrote in message
news: om...
>
>
> Muscle atrophy
>
> Searching for clues to improve muscle
> fitness in the aging population
>
> By Alyson Kenward
> SPARK writer
>
> It's well known that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreases with age. U of C researcher
> Russ Hepple wants to know why and find ways to slow muscle atrophy.
>
> Hepple, an hostinghostinghostingistant professor in the Faculties of Medicine and
> Kinesiology, is studying cell death in muscle tissues in relation to
> oxygen intake and diet.
>
> "It was initially believed that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreased in the older
> people because they were less active," says Hepple. "This isn't the
> whole story."
>
> Testing over the past 20 years has shown that muscle tissue
> degenerates even in elderly people who maintain a high level of
> activity.Hepple adds that muscle tissue is post-mitotic, meaning it
> will not divide to produce more cells. Once cells in muscle tissue
> die, they cannot be replaced.
>
> "When you are building muscle through training you are not increasing
> the number of muscle cells," he says. "You are increasing the size of
> the cells already there."
>
> This leads many people to mistakenly believe that muscle atrophy could
> be avoided with resistance training, where increased cell size and
> strength would balance the loss of cells. "Although we already knew
> that cells die with age, it now looks as though many older muscle
> cells produce less force, on a per mhostinghostinghosting basis," he says.
>
> In other words, not only are there fewer functioning cells in your
> muscles as you age, but they are also weaker.
> But don't give up hope just yet, because Hepple is getting close to
> understanding the root of the problem.
>
> "I am particularly interested in the aerobic performance of muscle
> cells," he says.
>
> "Researchers know that there is a progressive decline in aerobic
> performance with age," he says. "Not just because of your heart, but
> also because of decreased mitochondria operation."
>
> Mitochondria are the factory-centre of cells that produce energy
> needed for work in muscles.
>
> When oxygen is processed in cells to produce energy, a byproduct is
> oxygen radicals - which are very reactive oxygen atoms with one
> unpaired electron. Normally, most of these free radicals are disabled
> by naturally occurring antioxidants in your cells. However, research
> has shown that over a lifetime, some of these oxygen radicals can
> react with mitochondrial DNA, disabling the mitochondria and
> eventually leading to cell death.
>
> So, as the dysfunction of mitochondria increases, muscle performance
> decreases. "If we can slow dysfunction of mitochondria, we could also
> decrease the loss of effectiveness of muscle work," says Hepple.
>
> Previous research has shown that animals on a calorie-restricted diet
> demonstrate lower free radical stress, have a better internal
> "scavenging mechanism" to clean up free radicals and have healthier
> mitochondria. They also live longer.
> Hepple is in the process of conducting experiments with two sets of
> rats. One group had no restrictions on their food intake. The other
> group was given the required amount of daily nutrients, but was placed
> on a calorie-restricted diet.
> Hepple's preliminary findings support the idea that the lower
> free-radical stress hostinghostinghostingociated with caloric restriction yields better
> maintenance of muscle mhostinghostinghosting, mitochondrial function and muscle aerobic
> performance with aging.
>
> But while a calorie-restricted diet appears to be very beneficial in
> combating the effects of aging, Hepple adds that this is not a
> practical solution.
>
> "This isn't a reality for the Big Mac generation," he says. "We eat
> for a lot of social and pleasure reasons, and even I wouldn't go for
> it."
>
> In an upcoming project funded by the Canadian Inshostinghostinghostingutes of Health
> Research, Hepple will study the effects of caloric restriction as a
> means of fighting free radical damage and preserving muscle aerobic
> performance with aging.
> In the future, Hepple also wants to determine if antioxidant
> supplementation in one's diet can improve muscle tissue fitness and
> help maintain muscle performance in the older population.

There is a belief being expressed, to the effect that one can increase
muscle 'mhostinghostinghosting' but not grow new muscle tissue, or 'cells'.

You increase muscle mhostinghostinghosting by growing new cells. The 'cells' don't
swell to create 'muscle mhostinghostinghosting'. Only brain and nerve cells are lost
forever, in the sense it is being talked about here.

Aging presents a host of problems as damaged cells are replaced much
more slowly and there are a number of age related factors that can
short circuit the process entirely. Geriactrics is a different topic.
The inferences you are drawing from your little bit of research are
not supported by the information presented.

RJJ will replace the muscle mhostinghostinghosting lost. However, going up and down so
quickly buts a severe strain on the bod, particularly the heart liver
and kidneys.

To get a better understanding of the issue, check out on line medical
info regarding high protien low carb diets. Relative hostinghostinghostinghostingogies can be
made from this material.


On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 00:06:57 GMT, "pablo"
<> wrote:

>
>
>You obviosuly can not comprehend what you quote, and the fact it relates
>excatly ZERO to the discussion and the silly claims you have made.
>
>How an article on the effect of aging can be interpreted to mean muscle
>cells can't be re-generrated in general is beyond me. This is very basic
>sh*t, and I am done enlightening the intellecutally lazy.
>
>Buy a hostinghostinghostinghostinging book.
>
>...pablo
>
>
>"Kenneth Leja" <> wrote in message
>news: com...
>>
>>
>> Muscle atrophy
>>
>> Searching for clues to improve muscle
>> fitness in the aging population
>>
>> By Alyson Kenward
>> SPARK writer
>>
>> It's well known that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreases with age. U of C researcher
>> Russ Hepple wants to know why and find ways to slow muscle atrophy.
>>
>> Hepple, an hostinghostinghostingistant professor in the Faculties of Medicine and
>> Kinesiology, is studying cell death in muscle tissues in relation to
>> oxygen intake and diet.
>>
>> "It was initially believed that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreased in the older
>> people because they were less active," says Hepple. "This isn't the
>> whole story."
>>
>> Testing over the past 20 years has shown that muscle tissue
>> degenerates even in elderly people who maintain a high level of
>> activity.Hepple adds that muscle tissue is post-mitotic, meaning it
>> will not divide to produce more cells. Once cells in muscle tissue
>> die, they cannot be replaced.
>>
>> "When you are building muscle through training you are not increasing
>> the number of muscle cells," he says. "You are increasing the size of
>> the cells already there."
>>
>> This leads many people to mistakenly believe that muscle atrophy could
>> be avoided with resistance training, where increased cell size and
>> strength would balance the loss of cells. "Although we already knew
>> that cells die with age, it now looks as though many older muscle
>> cells produce less force, on a per mhostinghostinghosting basis," he says.
>>
>> In other words, not only are there fewer functioning cells in your
>> muscles as you age, but they are also weaker.
>> But don't give up hope just yet, because Hepple is getting close to
>> understanding the root of the problem.
>>
>> "I am particularly interested in the aerobic performance of muscle
>> cells," he says.
>>
>> "Researchers know that there is a progressive decline in aerobic
>> performance with age," he says. "Not just because of your heart, but
>> also because of decreased mitochondria operation."
>>
>> Mitochondria are the factory-centre of cells that produce energy
>> needed for work in muscles.
>>
>> When oxygen is processed in cells to produce energy, a byproduct is
>> oxygen radicals - which are very reactive oxygen atoms with one
>> unpaired electron. Normally, most of these free radicals are disabled
>> by naturally occurring antioxidants in your cells. However, research
>> has shown that over a lifetime, some of these oxygen radicals can
>> react with mitochondrial DNA, disabling the mitochondria and
>> eventually leading to cell death.
>>
>> So, as the dysfunction of mitochondria increases, muscle performance
>> decreases. "If we can slow dysfunction of mitochondria, we could also
>> decrease the loss of effectiveness of muscle work," says Hepple.
>>
>> Previous research has shown that animals on a calorie-restricted diet
>> demonstrate lower free radical stress, have a better internal
>> "scavenging mechanism" to clean up free radicals and have healthier
>> mitochondria. They also live longer.
>> Hepple is in the process of conducting experiments with two sets of
>> rats. One group had no restrictions on their food intake. The other
>> group was given the required amount of daily nutrients, but was placed
>> on a calorie-restricted diet.
>> Hepple's preliminary findings support the idea that the lower
>> free-radical stress hostinghostinghostingociated with caloric restriction yields better
>> maintenance of muscle mhostinghostinghosting, mitochondrial function and muscle aerobic
>> performance with aging.
>>
>> But while a calorie-restricted diet appears to be very beneficial in
>> combating the effects of aging, Hepple adds that this is not a
>> practical solution.
>>
>> "This isn't a reality for the Big Mac generation," he says. "We eat
>> for a lot of social and pleasure reasons, and even I wouldn't go for
>> it."
>>
>> In an upcoming project funded by the Canadian Inshostinghostinghostingutes of Health
>> Research, Hepple will study the effects of caloric restriction as a
>> means of fighting free radical damage and preserving muscle aerobic
>> performance with aging.
>> In the future, Hepple also wants to determine if antioxidant
>> supplementation in one's diet can improve muscle tissue fitness and
>> help maintain muscle performance in the older population.
>

"pablo" <> wrote in message news:<BiUtb.1243$ >...
> You obviosuly can not comprehend what you quote, and the fact it relates
> excatly ZERO to the discussion and the silly claims you have made.
>
> How an article on the effect of aging can be interpreted to mean muscle
> cells can't be re-generrated in general is beyond me. This is very basic
> sh*t, and I am done enlightening the intellecutally lazy.
>
> Buy a hostinghostinghostinghostinging book.
>
> ...pablo

Pablito, it doesn't matter how one loses muscle cells. It can be lost
thru aging, lack of exercise, or fasting. Anyway you lose it, you
cannot grow new muscle cells. Muscles grow bigger or smaller because
preexisting muscle cells expand or contract. Ever notice how your
muscles bulge right after a workout? Do you really think you've grown
new muscle cells?

I found this out because I did extensive research few years back when
I thought I'd try fasting and meditation. What I learned is that when
you fast your body breaks down muscle cells, not only for energy but
for nutriets, for PROTEINS that your body needs. Once your body burns
away your muscle cells, they are gone forever.
You can exercise and expand existing ones but all science says muscle
cells, once lost, can't be recreated. Why do you think athletes fear
injury that takes long time to heal? Because if they're inactive for a
months or years, they lose muscle cells. They can train after the
injury heals but they can never regain their former strength.

And books are not for hostinghostinghostinghostinging, another misconception you seem to have.
They are for reading and maybe you'll learn something if you read,
instead of hostinghostinghostinghosting, one next one.

Okay Pablito?

>
>
> "Kenneth Leja" <> wrote in message
> news: om...
> >
> >
> > Muscle atrophy
> >
> > Searching for clues to improve muscle
> > fitness in the aging population
> >
> > By Alyson Kenward
> > SPARK writer
> >
> > It's well known that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreases with age. U of C researcher
> > Russ Hepple wants to know why and find ways to slow muscle atrophy.
> >
> > Hepple, an hostinghostinghostingistant professor in the Faculties of Medicine and
> > Kinesiology, is studying cell death in muscle tissues in relation to
> > oxygen intake and diet.
> >
> > "It was initially believed that muscle mhostinghostinghosting decreased in the older
> > people because they were less active," says Hepple. "This isn't the
> > whole story."
> >
> > Testing over the past 20 years has shown that muscle tissue
> > degenerates even in elderly people who maintain a high level of
> > activity.Hepple adds that muscle tissue is post-mitotic, meaning it
> > will not divide to produce more cells. Once cells in muscle tissue
> > die, they cannot be replaced.
> >
> > "When you are building muscle through training you are not increasing
> > the number of muscle cells," he says. "You are increasing the size of
> > the cells already there."
> >
> > This leads many people to mistakenly believe that muscle atrophy could
> > be avoided with resistance training, where increased cell size and
> > strength would balance the loss of cells. "Although we already knew
> > that cells die with age, it now looks as though many older muscle
> > cells produce less force, on a per mhostinghostinghosting basis," he says.
> >
> > In other words, not only are there fewer functioning cells in your
> > muscles as you age, but they are also weaker.
> > But don't give up hope just yet, because Hepple is getting close to
> > understanding the root of the problem.
> >
> > "I am particularly interested in the aerobic performance of muscle
> > cells," he says.
> >
> > "Researchers know that there is a progressive decline in aerobic
> > performance with age," he says. "Not just because of your heart, but
> > also because of decreased mitochondria operation."
> >
> > Mitochondria are the factory-centre of cells that produce energy
> > needed for work in muscles.
> >
> > When oxygen is processed in cells to produce energy, a byproduct is
> > oxygen radicals - which are very reactive oxygen atoms with one
> > unpaired electron. Normally, most of these free radicals are disabled
> > by naturally occurring antioxidants in your cells. However, research
> > has shown that over a lifetime, some of these oxygen radicals can
> > react with mitochondrial DNA, disabling the mitochondria and
> > eventually leading to cell death.
> >
> > So, as the dysfunction of mitochondria increases, muscle performance
> > decreases. "If we can slow dysfunction of mitochondria, we could also
> > decrease the loss of effectiveness of muscle work," says Hepple.
> >
> > Previous research has shown that animals on a calorie-restricted diet
> > demonstrate lower free radical stress, have a better internal
> > "scavenging mechanism" to clean up free radicals and have healthier
> > mitochondria. They also live longer.
> > Hepple is in the process of conducting experiments with two sets of
> > rats. One group had no restrictions on their food intake. The other
> > group was given the required amount of daily nutrients, but was placed
> > on a calorie-restricted diet.
> > Hepple's preliminary findings support the idea that the lower
> > free-radical stress hostinghostinghostingociated with caloric restriction yields better
> > maintenance of muscle mhostinghostinghosting, mitochondrial function and muscle aerobic
> > performance with aging.
> >
> > But while a calorie-restricted diet appears to be very beneficial in
> > combating the effects of aging, Hepple adds that this is not a
> > practical solution.
> >
> > "This isn't a reality for the Big Mac generation," he says. "We eat
> > for a lot of social and pleasure reasons, and even I wouldn't go for
> > it."
> >
> > In an upcoming project funded by the Canadian Inshostinghostinghostingutes of Health
> > Research, Hepple will study the effects of caloric restriction as a
> > means of fighting free radical damage and preserving muscle aerobic
> > performance with aging.
> > In the future, Hepple also wants to determine if antioxidant
> > supplementation in one's diet can improve muscle tissue fitness and
> > help maintain muscle performance in the older population.

wrote in message news:<>. ..
> There is a belief being expressed, to the effect that one can increase
> muscle 'mhostinghostinghosting' but not grow new muscle tissue, or 'cells'.
>
> You increase muscle mhostinghostinghosting by growing new cells. The 'cells' don't
> swell to create 'muscle mhostinghostinghosting'. Only brain and nerve cells are lost
> forever, in the sense it is being talked about here.

This is to nutrition what astrology is to the stars.

>
> Aging presents a host of problems as damaged cells are replaced much
> more slowly and there are a number of age related factors that can
> short circuit the process entirely. Geriactrics is a different topic.
> The inferences you are drawing from your little bit of research are
> not supported by the information presented.

Anyway you lose it, you cannot regain lost muscle cells. It's
scientifically impossible.

>
> RJJ will replace the muscle mhostinghostinghosting lost. However, going up and down so
> quickly buts a severe strain on the bod, particularly the heart liver
> and kidneys.

I'm sure he still has alot of muscle left. One can lose weight by
losing muscle mhostinghostinghosting without losing muscle cells. Consider a water
balloon as a muscle cell. When it's expanded with more water, it
weighs more. When some water is let out, it weighs less.
I suspect this is how Roy Jones lost much of the weight. He
deemphasized weight training as well as losing some more fat. He also
might have taken some diuretics that sucked excess water out of his
body.
If he lost muscle by fasting then he's stupid because he'll never
regain lost muscle cells again. They are irreplaceable.

>
> To get a better understanding of the issue, check out on line medical
> info regarding high protien low carb diets. Relative hostinghostinghostinghostingogies can be
> made from this material.
>

No, one must not rely on such sources because they are trying to sell
something. This high-protein diet scheme is a sham. Any real doctor
will tell you that the average human body only needs 30-65 mg of
protein a day. It doesn't matter whether you exercise or not, the
amount of protein a person needs is about the same. A professional
athlete who does extensive training will need just a little more but
the general truth is you don't need EXTRA protein for purposes of
exercise. It's just a health food industry trying to fool people.
Human body will use on average only about 25-30 mg of protein a day.
Any excess protein is sent down the digestive system into your colon.
It remains unused.

"Kenneth Leja" <> wrote in message
news: om...

> Pablito, it doesn't matter how one loses muscle cells. It can be lost
> thru aging, lack of exercise, or fasting. Anyway you lose it, you
> cannot grow new muscle cells. Muscles grow bigger or smaller because
> preexisting muscle cells expand or contract. Ever notice how your
> muscles bulge right after a workout? Do you really think you've grown
> new muscle cells?

According to your post, we've already established that resistance training
does not cause new cell growth. Why then would you hostinghostinghostingume that a lack of
resistance training would cause the opposite? The studies you cite claim
only that old age reduces cell count, not atrophy due to a sedentary
lifestyle.

"Kenneth Leja" <> wrote in message
news: om...
> "pablo" <> wrote in message
news:<BiUtb.1243$ >...
> > You obviosuly can not comprehend what you quote, and the fact it relates
> > excatly ZERO to the discussion and the silly claims you have made.
> >
> > How an article on the effect of aging can be interpreted to mean muscle
> > cells can't be re-generrated in general is beyond me. This is very basic
> > sh*t, and I am done enlightening the intellecutally lazy.
> >
> > Buy a hostinghostinghostinghostinging book.
> >
> > ...pablo
>
> Pablito, it doesn't matter how one loses muscle cells. It can be lost
> thru aging, lack of exercise, or fasting. Anyway you lose it, you
> cannot grow new muscle cells.

You have come onto this forum and, IMO, showed a great deal of ignorance and
now disrespect, to someone who IMO knows more about the body & exercise than
anybody else on this newsgroup. IIRC, it is only the heart muscle which
cannot regenerate new cells and heal itself. Your copying an article from
some oddball source is hardly what I would consider to be authoritative. I
am not saying there is any single source or theory on this subject, but I
will take Pablo's comments and opinions over someone who suddently shows up
and comes off as some flake.

"Kenneth Leja" <> wrote in message
news: om...
>
> Pablito, it doesn't matter how one loses muscle cells. It can be lost
> thru aging, lack of exercise, or fasting. Anyway you lose it, you
> cannot grow new muscle cells.

It's sad that you can't do a basic Internet search. This is incredible basic
stuff. Here's something to help you stop looking like an ignorant idiot:

Here'some basic stuff out of

Encyclopoedia Britannica. 2003.


....
Adaptation

Adaptation refers to the ability of cells to adjust to severe stresses and
achieve altered states of equilibrium while preserving a healthy state. In
the human body the large bulging muscles of an individual engaged in heavy
labour are a good example of cellular adaptation. Because of the heavy
demand for work from these muscles, each of the individual muscle cells
within the labourer's arms and legs becomes larger (hypertrophic). This
enlargement is caused by the formation of increased numbers of tiny fibres
(myofilaments) that provide the contractile power of muscles. Thus, while
the normal muscle cell might have 2,000 myofilaments, the hypertrophied cell
might have 4,000 myofilaments. ...

A myofilament, by the way, is an array of "muscle cells" to the ignorant
layman such as yourself. So yeah, you can grow a lot more of them. Anytime.
But henceforth do your own goddamn searches on "adaptation" and
"hypertrophy". Oh, you do grow the size of the "cells" as well, of course,
but you *both* increase number and size when your muscles naturally adapt to
higher regular workloads through hypertrophy aka growth.

> I found this out because I did extensive research few years back when
> I thought I'd try fasting and meditation. What I learned is that when
> you fast your body breaks down muscle cells, not only for energy but
> for nutriets, for PROTEINS that your body needs. Once your body burns
> away your muscle cells, they are gone forever.

You "research" was beyond pathetic. Do youself a favor and read a few basic
articles on such matters before you spout about you ill-conceived notions in
public.

If you can't grow "muscle cells", get yourself treated by a doctor. It's a
condition called "muscular dystrophy".

Not only were you making an hostinghostinghosting of yourself by vomiting ignorance all over
the internet, but also by being arrogant about that ignorance to boot.

....pablo

pablo wrote:
>
> A myofilament, by the way, is an array of "muscle cells" to the ignorant
> layman such as yourself. So yeah, you can grow a lot more of them.

Sorry, no. A microfilament is a macromolecule (not a cell!) that can
shorten itself, consuming biochemical energy (ATP). This forms the basis
of muscular contraction. A muscle cell (miocyte) containts
microfilaments. Not vice-versa.

An important part of muscular hypertrophy is the development of
vasculuarization within the muscle.

As to the original question--that is, whether muscle cells can divide,
it one should consult a histology text to find the answer.

The Sanity Cruzer wrote:

> IIRC, it is only the heart muscle which
> cannot regenerate new cells and heal itself.

Actually, reality is not as grim:

Nature 415, 240 - 243 (10 January 2002); doi:10.1038/415240a

Myocyte renewal and ventricular remodelling

PIERO ANVERSA1 AND BERNARDO NADAL-GINARD1

Cardiovascular Research Inshostinghostinghostingute, Department of Medicine, New York
Medical College, Valhalla, New York 10595, USA

(e-mail: )

Remaining young at heart is a desirable but elusive goal. Unbeknown to
us, however, myocyte regeneration may accomplish just that. Continuous
cell renewal in the adult myocardium was thought to be impossible, but
multipotent cardiac stem cells may be able to renew the myocardium and,
under certain cirhostinghostinghostingstances, can be coaxed to repair the broken heart
after infarction.