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Therapeutic potential of myokines and myometabolites for brain ageing and neurodegeneration

Neurodegeneration is not merely determined by local cues but is also influenced by systemic signals, such as factors released by peripheral tissues. Muscle-to-brain communication via muscle-secreted signalling factors is increasingly recognized as an important signalling axis. Collectively, muscle-to-brain signalling could be harnessed to impede neurodegeneration and delay cognitive decline during ageing.

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Fig. 1: General overview of muscle-to-brain signalling.

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Acknowledgements

Work in the Demontis lab is supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01AG075869) and by the Alzheimer’s Association (AARG-NTF-22-973220). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Research at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is supported by the ALSAC.

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Correspondence to Fabio Demontis.

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Rai, M., Demontis, F. Therapeutic potential of myokines and myometabolites for brain ageing and neurodegeneration. Nat Rev Endocrinol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-025-01195-9

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