Exercise in a pill? Cortés on muscle-to-brain signals, prosaposin and PS18
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Automatic summary · not editorially reviewedIn this conference talk, Professor Constanza Cortés describes her lab's search for "exercise in a pill": exerkines released into the blood, a mouse model where changing only the muscle mimicked exercise, the protein prosaposin, and the peptide PS18, which is now being compared with eight weeks of treadmill training in older mice. [1]
According to the description, Professor Constanza Cortés studies how exercise changes what is in our blood and how signals from muscle travel to the brain. [1]
The description says a mouse model in which only the muscle was changed tricked the animal into "thinking" it was exercising, with older mice running further and showing healthier mitochondria. [1]
A new study in older mice, supported by DoNotAge.org, is described as comparing PS18 with eight weeks of treadmill training across frailty, cognition, metabolic health and body composition. [1]
Cortés on exerkines and muscle-to-brain signals
According to the description, Professor Constanza Cortés of the University of Southern California is a neuroscientist who studies how exercise changes what is in our blood and how signals released from muscle travel to the brain. The talk covers exerkines, described as signalling molecules that our organs release into the bloodstream during and after exercise. It also covers a mouse model in which changing only the muscle tricked the animal into "thinking" it was exercising; older mice in that model ran further and showed healthier mitochondria. [1]
Prosaposin, PS18 and the older-mouse comparison
The description reports a surprise finding: in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, changing the muscle alone reduced tau pathology in the brain. It presents prosaposin as a protein that rises in the blood after exercise in mice, rats and humans. PS18 is described as a short peptide derived from prosaposin that triggered exercise-like changes in the brains of young mice without any running. A new study in older mice, supported by DoNotAge.org, is said to compare PS18 with eight weeks of treadmill training across frailty, cognition, metabolic health and body composition. The session closes with a plain-English summary from DoNotAge.org founder Alan Graves. [1]
What the description does not establish
The description lists topics such as sex differences, exercise type and timing, but gives no results for them. It reports no outcomes for the new comparison of PS18 with treadmill training in older mice. The mouse and peptide findings are described as laboratory work, not as demonstrated benefits for human lifespan or health. The description does not state whether the talk presents published data or preliminary results. [1]
Context & limits
This is based only on the video description; the video and transcript were not reviewed. The description gives no results for the new PS18-versus-treadmill comparison in older mice and does not say whether the talk reports published or preliminary data. Mouse and peptide findings are not evidence of human lifespan or health benefits.
Based on the creator’s description; the full video and transcript were not analyzed.
Quoted passages in the original language
how exercise changes what's in our blood
older mice running further and showing healthier
comparing PS18 with eight weeks of treadmill
About this video
Creator description · original textText language: English
DoNotAge · 17 min · Source published: 2026-10-10
Added to Harbor: 10/23/2026
Original on YouTube ↗Automatically categorized source. Creator statements are not an independent evidence review or personal medical guidance.