Heart problems, inflammation of the lungs, diabetes or spinal cord injuries… These different health problems have different causes. They can however have the same consequence: mobility problems. This can significantly affect the quality of life of patients. A new study, published in the journal Journal of Physiology, highlights the link between the loss of small blood vessels in the muscles and movement difficulties.
When we are physically active, our hearts and lungs increase the amount of oxygen in our blood, which is then delivered to our muscles. The capillaries, which are the smallest blood vessels, are a kind of bridge between the “fuel” supplied by the blood and the demand of muscle cells. In other words, for the muscles to function properly, the capillaries must be in good condition.
A “new treatment option”
The study researchers worked on rats with heart disease to analyze the consequences of a limited number of capillaries on the muscles. “By studying muscles, we have isolated complications found in many serious diseases and found that increasing the number of small blood vessels is a new treatment option alongside the more traditional approach to enlarging large vessels. This research could help treat people who have difficulty moving, which is one of the most debilitating effects of heart disease or diabetes, ”said Stuart Eggington, lead author of the study and researcher at the University of Leeds ( England).
Useful in the case of the “smoker’s leg”
When the researcher talks about “the more traditional approach to enlarging the large vessels”, he is referring to a treatment intended to improve blood circulation. For example, it sometimes happens in heavy smokers to suffer from “the smoker’s leg”. It is an occlusive arterial disease that affects the arteries of the legs and pelvis. The arteries narrow and become blocked, which can lead to amputation. Usually, the proposed treatment widens the blood vessels, but with this study, the researchers imply that increasing the blood flow is not necessarily the solution. It would therefore be better to increase the number of capillaries.
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