ABSTRACT del Congresso Internazionale di Medicina Antiaging di Parigi(11-12 Ottobre 2013)

The skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the human body and contracting skeletal muscle secretes proteins which work in a hormone-like fashion, exerting specific immune-endocrine effects on other organs.Peptides that are produced, expressed and released by muscle fibres and exert autocrine, paracrine or endocrine effects should be classified as ‘myokines’.This novel contractimg muscle features insert the muscle inside the complex neuro-endocrine-immune network which regulates the cross talk among different tessues.
In this lecture are shown the most important studies that are focused on the endocrine and immune role exerted by the muscles.It is well known that skeletal muscle is the target of numerous hormones, but only in recent years studies have shown a role of skeletal muscle as a secretory organ of cytokines and other peptides, denominated myokines (IL6, IL8, IL15, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and leukaemia inhibitory factor), which have autocrine, paracrine, or endocrine actions and are deeply involved in the modulation of inflammatory processes. 
Physical inactivity promotes an unbalance between these substances towards a pro-inflammatory status named low grade inflammation(L.G.I.), thus favoring the vicious circle of sarcopenia, accumulation of fat - especially visceral - and development of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, dementia and depression, according to what has been called "the Diseasome of Physical Inactivity".
This lecture suggests that myokines released by contracting muscles, may also provide an explanation as to how regular muscle activity,exerting mainly an antinflammatory action, influences positively mood, performance and cognitive function and prevent cardiovascular and metabolic diseases like diabesity and metabolic syndrome.