Observational studyNature metabolism2025
Reversible reduction in brain myelin content upon marathon running.
Observational study in Nature metabolism, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed.
- The importance of cross-talk in research and the body: An early career researcher perspective.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Lesion-Level Subtypes of White Matter Hyperintensity Evolution Beyond Spatial Location.Neurology · 2026Observational
- Beyond the Wiring: White Matter as a Dynamic Regulator of Brain Function and Disease.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Review
- Effects of Physical Activity on Brain White Matter Integrity Are Region-, Dose-, and Age-Dependent: Findings From the Population-Based Rhineland Study.Aging cell · 2026Article
- Monocarboxylate transporter 2 regulates maintenance of myelin and axonal integrity by oligodendrocytes.Nature communications · 2026Article
- GPIHBP1 on oligodendrocytes binds lipoprotein lipase within the human brain.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Aerobic glycolysis in Schizophrenia: Developmental rescue or energetic breakdown?Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Metabolic Symbiosis and Vulnerability in the CNS Axon-Myelin Unit.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Dynamic thermodynamic-informational entropic relationship (TIER) models of selective vulnerability to neurodegeneration.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The role of white matter myelin in structural-functional network coupling.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Integrated respiratory functions predict myelin status in the mouse brain.npj biomedical innovations · 2026Article
- Article
- Signaling roles for astrocytic lipid metabolism in brain function.EMBO reports · 2026Review
- Myelin Lipid Reserves as a Conditional Metabolic Buffer: Implications for Alzheimer's Disease and Ischemic Stroke.Neuromolecular medicine · 2026Review
- Mild chronic hypoxia and the brain: an ambiguous relationship.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Advances in AI-based diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease using MRI: a comprehensive survey.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- The neuron-astrocyte metabolic unit as a cornerstone of brain energy metabolism in health and disease.Nature metabolism · 2025Review
- Forelimb Motor Learning and Memory Consolidation Drives Distinct Oligodendrocyte Plasticity to Regulate Task-related Neuronal Activity.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Here we use magnetic resonance imaging to study the impact of marathon running on brain structure in humans. We show that the signal for myelin water fraction-a surrogate of myelin content-is substantially reduced upon marathon running in specific brain regions involved in motor coordination and sensory and emotional integration, but recovers within two months. These findings suggest that brain myelin content is temporarily and reversibly diminished by severe exercise, a finding consistent with recent evidence from rodent studies that suggest that myelin lipids may act as glial energy reserves in extreme metabolic conditions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.