Hyaluronic Acid May Help Regenerate Muscles, Study Says

Published in the scientific journal early August Science, a study claims hyaluronic acid can help heal muscles damaged. This substance is already known around the world, but is widely used in the cosmetic industry and injections for patients with osteoarthritis.

Stem cells work with immune cells to repair damaged muscles, but until then, scientists didn’t know how these cells coordinated to remove dead tissue and produce new fibers, according to the researchers. The study says the answer to this question lies in hyaluronic acid.

“When muscles are damaged, it’s important for immune cells to quickly enter the tissue and remove the damage before the stem cells begin to repair themselves,” said the study’s senior author, a senior scientist at Ottawa Hospital (Canada) and the University of Ottawa. Professor Jeffrey Dilworth.

How does it work

The study points out that stem cells are primed to initiate muscle repair immediately, but put them into a resting state until immune cells have finished “cleaning” the damaged muscle. After about 40 hours, the stem cells wake up and begin to repair.

Researchers found that hyaluronic acid works as an internal wake-up call for stem cells to initiate tissue repair. When there is a large acid coating on the damaged muscle, the immune cells go into a “sleep” phase and repair begins.

In any case, scientists claim that the regenerative effect is due to the acid produced by the stem cells. Therefore, they will continue to work to understand whether it is possible to use stem cell-modifying drugs to increase acid production and thereby speed up muscle repair.

“If we can find a way to increase hyaluronic acid production in the muscle stem cells of the elderly, it could aid muscle repair,” said study lead author Kiran Nakka.