Exercise Hormone 'irisin' is a Myth: Study

The ’exercise hormone’ irisin cannot be produced by humans, a news study has claimed. Scientists from the Duke University School of Medicine has provided evidence against the existence of the “exercise hormone” in humans and other species.

Irisin, first discovered in 2011, was described as a hormone produced by exercise. The finding ignited hope that irisin could hold the key to fighting diabetes and obesity.

But the new study from an international team of scientists has found that the antibodies used to measure levels of irisin in blood were poorly vetted and non-specific.

“From the start, the study of irisin has been complicated by unvalidated reagents and contradictory data that have raised flags about the existence of irisin and its role in humans and other species,” said Prof Harold Erickson, Duke University School of Medicine, and one of the authors of the study. “We provide compelling evidence that the signals reported by previous studies were due to non-specific blood proteins, not irisin. Hopefully, our findings will finally convince other researchers to stop chasing a myth.”

Source-Medindia