Quercetin May Improve Heart Health of People with Muscular Dystrophy

14 Feb 2017 --- Dietary intervention could benefit heart health in those with muscular dystrophy, according to new animal research published in Experimental Physiology. The researchers say that if these findings are confirmed in humans, it could mean that off the shelf supplements could improve health and life expectancy.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a severe type of muscular dystrophy that causes a decline in cardiac health resulting in premature death, at an average age of 26 years, and predominantly affects males.

In the animal study, Scientists from Iowa State University, Auburn University and the University of Montana, found that by supplementing the mice's food with quercetin, a flavonol found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, and grains, they improved their biomedical outcomes, providing an inflammatory and antioxidant effect.

To the groups' surprise, they also found that the quercetin-fed mice were more active than the control group.

The researchers used several mouse models for muscular dystrophy, carrying out experiments in parallel.

By doing this they were able to replicate muscular dystrophy in humans as closely as possible.

Dr John C. Quindry, the corresponding author of the study said: “A currently available dietary intervention could benefit those with muscular dystrophy.”

“We gave the mice a quercetin dose that was proportional to those that could be given to humans. This allows the scientists to make the best possible connections between animal and human research findings.”