REGULAR running triggers a molecule that can help repair certain types of brain damage, according to a team of researchers from The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. In trials on animals, they discovered that the molecule, called VGF nerve growth factor, helps to heal the protective coating that surrounds and insulates nerve fibres. As one of hundreds of molecules that muscles and the brain release into the body during exercise, VGF is known to have an anti-depressant response that produces a feel-good effect after a run. Reporting their findings in the journal Cell Reports, they suggested it could pave the way for treatments for multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders.