Your Brain Can Start to Eat Itself When You Run a 26.2 Miles Marathon

Running a marathon might briefly shrink parts of your brain- but this surprising effect could hold clues for treating diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Highlights:

Marathon running can temporarily reduce myelin in the brain's white matter, especially in areas linked to motor and emotional control
Myelin levels begin to recover within two weeks and typically return to normal within two months post-race
The rapid recovery of myelin may offer insights into potential treatments for demyelinating conditions like multiple sclerosis

Along with the numerous other physical effects that running a marathon can have on the human body, a recent study suggests that your body may begin eating your brain while running the 26.2-mile race. While this seems alarming, the marathon's effects on the brain are reversible, and it usually returns to normal levels in about two months. Researchers hope that this study will help them understand how the brain can heal itself so quickly and utilize this knowledge to treat other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis ().

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‘Did you know?
Your brain might literally be fueling your marathon by burning its own fat-rich myelin- but don’t worry, it knows how to bounce back fast! #brainfuel #marathon #endurancerunning #medindia’

How the Brain Uses Myelin

The human brain contains myelin, a fatty material that protects neurons. Myelin works as an insulator, allowing electrical pulses from the brain to flow securely and efficiently between neurons. According to a new study published in Nature Metabolism, myelin can also provide energy under high metabolic conditions.

Running a marathon, like any other long-form workout, requires the body to rely on its energy supplies. This usually takes the form of carbs, such as glycogen in the muscles. However, once all of the carbohydrates have been used, the body begins to rely on fat resources, including, according to the study, fatty myelin in the brain.

The study's authors, from the UPV/EHU, CIC biomaGUNE, and IIS Biobizkaia, discovered that marathon runners exhibited a drop in myelin in specific brain regions after finishing the race. However, their myelin levels returned to normal after two months.

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Does the Brain Eat Itself During Marathons?

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the researchers examined scans of the runners' brains 48 hours before the event, two weeks later, and finally two months later.

The team analyzed the myelin water in the runners' brains- which can be an indirect indicator of myelin in the brain- and found "a reduction in the myelin content in 12 areas of white matter in the brain, which are related to motor coordination and sensory and emotional integration," said Carlos Matute, professor of Anatomy and Human Embriology at the UPV/EHU and a researcher at IIS Biobizkaia, in a press release.

According to Pedro Ramos-Cabrer, Ikerbasque Research professor at CIC biomaGUNE, the two-week scan revealed that "the myelin concentrations had increased substantially, but had not yet reached pre-race levels," according to a press release.

Following the two-month examination, the team reported that myelin levels had returned to pre-race levels.

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Helping People with Multiple Sclerosis

While it may seem surprising that your body would devour a critical brain protectant, the astonishing discovery is how quickly myelin recovers from this. The study team hopes that this discovery may lead to better treatment choices for people who suffer from demyelinating disorders such as MS.

"Understanding how the myelin in the runners recovers quickly may provide clues for developing treatments for demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, in which the disappearance of myelin and, therefore, of its energy contribution, facilitates structural damage and degeneration," said Matute.

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Should People Stop Running Marathons?

The study's authors also point out that their findings do not suggest that people should stop running marathons, as exercise offers several health benefits. However, patients with demyelinating sickness should avoid them because they may cause more harm than help.

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