Exercise-induced myokines and their role in chronic diseases.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of biological mechanisms and conceptual frameworks without systematic search methodology or original empirical data
PubMed 21354469 · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2011.02.010
What was done
This narrative review synthesized evidence and mechanistic concepts linking physical inactivity to chronic conditions (termed the "diseasome of physical inactivity," including cognitive decline, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and specific cancers). It evaluates the role of contracting skeletal muscles as endocrine organs that produce and release myokines to regulate systemic inflammation and metabolic cross-talk.
What was found
The abstract reports no empirical numbers or quantitative effect estimates. It outlines a mechanistic pathway wherein physical inactivity promotes visceral fat accumulation and systemic inflammatory signaling, while contracting skeletal muscle releases myokines that act via endocrine pathways (to exert anti-inflammatory effects and reduce visceral fat) and paracrine pathways (to stimulate intramyocellular fat oxidation).
Why it matters
It establishes a molecular framework for understanding how physical exercise exerts systemic protective effects against metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases through muscle-organ cross-talk.
Limits
As a narrative review, the paper does not use systematic review or meta-analytic methods. No quantitative data, effect sizes, or study counts are reported in the abstract, and the described mechanisms rely heavily on theoretical and conceptual synthesis.
Cited by
- supports Muscle tissue contracting under load releases anti-inflammatory myokines that directly reduce chronic low-grade inflammation driving arterial plaque buildup.