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Marathon run may seem like the ultimate sport for staying in frame . That enjoin , it can take aheavy toll on the consistence , potentially damaging the kidneys , upsetting the stomach , increase the risk of heart unsuccessful person , and triggering musculoskeletal injury . Let ’s not forget that the original endurance contest Caranx crysos , the ancient Hellenic soldier Pheidippides , is say to havedropped deadimmediately after reaching his destination .

Now , a novel discipline suggests that marathons also affect the brain — causing the organ to exhaust itself to make up for fuel lose during the run .

a tired runner kneels on the ground after a race

A small study of people who ran a marathon found that their brains ' energy demands increased in the aftermath of the race.

In the enquiry , published March 24 in the journalNature Metabolism , scientist observed declines in a key biomarker of myelin , a fat person tissue that insulates the connection between brain cellphone , in marathon runners just after a race . The written report authors say this suggests the brain run through myelin as an energy reference under these uttermost condition .

Luckily for long - distance base runner , these effects appear to be reversible .

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Digitally generated image of brain filled with multicolored particles.

Once the body has exhausted the supplying of its standard energy source — glucose , or clams — it turns to backup generator , metabolise fats as an substitute fuel germ . The brain is , metabolically address , more of a Humvee than a hatchback door ; the free energy - hungry organ devours20 % of the dead body ’s energy , mean it can quickly have damage if fuel sources fly the coop short .

Pedro Ramos Cabrer — a neuroscientist at CIC biomaGUNE , a nonprofit research institute in San Sebastian , Spain , and a co - author of the study — tell Live Science that he and his colleagues wanted to name the brain ’s reserve energy source . They suspected that fatty myelin could be the reply . Previousresearchin gnawer suggested that fatty acids get from myeline breakdown could help boost cell selection in the Einstein . Whether these presymptomatic finding would be retroflex in human race was still a mystery , though .

" We needed to really deplete all the sources of zip of a body to prove this , " Cabrer told Live Science .

A photo of a statue head that is cracked and half missing

The team scan 10 runners ' wit 48 hour before they ran a battle of Marathon and then again two days , two weeks and two months afterward . They used MRI , which can uncover the presence of piddle molecules snare between myelin layers .

The brain CAT scan showed that , two days post - run , the MRI signals in 12 brainiac areas were depleted compared with before the race — in some cases , by up to 28 % . change to the brain ’s overall myelin levels were not statistically important , however , paint a picture that any changes were very isolated to specific region .

" The areas that we saw have more important change were those related to motor circuit and the center of emotional control of the brain , " Cabrer said . He suggested that this reflect the genial and physical effort the brainiac must uphold to get through a marathon .

Young woman exercising on a rowing machine at home

For any ball carrier relate about this cerebral cannibalism , there ’s secure tidings : After two calendar month , all of the runners ' medulla measures had recovered to their baseline levels .

Klaus - Armin Nave , director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Germany , was not involved in the study but has alsostudied how myelin stores energy , using lab mouse . Nave said the paper ’s findings aligned with how neuroscientists think myeline is maintained in the brainiac .

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Portrait of a female nurse preparing patient for a tomography exam at hospital at hospital.

" Myelin is always made and degraded , " he enjoin . " It ’s like a bathtub in which you constantly replete in water system and constantly drain it . " He added that Cabrer ’s body of work presents " very strong grounds " that , after a marathon , the head ’s metabolic postulate increase . Thus , the fuel stored in medulla is depleted more quickly than usual , leading to brain shrinkage .

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The findings do n’t entail smuggler should avoid marathons on their brains ' behalf . Both Nave and Cabrer noted that the study ’s small size intend more work will be needed to draw concrete conclusion about marathons ' personal effects on the brain . The very limited effects on overall myelin also raise the penury for further research , they added .

Nevertheless , these effects may carry increased risks for sure jock . For example , in people with amyotrophic sidelong sclerosis ( ALS ) , metabolic molecules typically made by myelinare in short supply , and the investigator think that excessive exercise could potentially exasperate the job .

An electron microscope image showing myelin insulating nerve fibers

Further inquiry will be needed to confirm this theory , Cabrer said .

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intend to offer medical or seaworthiness advice .

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