Problem:
Smooth muscle tissues are involuntary muscles that line the walls of your digestive, urinary, respiratory, and many other necessary systems of the human body. They are necessary for the production of these systems. (Openstax, 2022). Smooth muscle tissues work without any thought, they allow us to breathe or digest food. They are essential for life and are made up of very basic cell structures. One common occurrence that directly impacts smooth muscle tissues as we age is Arteriosclerosis. This is a buildup of atherosclerotic plaque inside the arteries, resulting in the leading cause of death in the United States. How this directly affects smooth muscle tissues is, arteries in one's kidney, heart, and lungs can become clogged restricting the abilities of our smooth muscle tissues. Modern science has allowed a work around for this issue. Scientists have recently found by testing on mice, if they block a certain protein in smooth muscle cells, they can effectively stop plaque buildup in our arteries. (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2022). This came to fruition when studies realized they were looking in the wrong places. Many scientists before believed plaque buildup started in endothelial cells or macrophages. Researchers believe this could be a big breakthrough, as there is already medication in production that blocks this protein in smooth muscle cells. Another emphasis of this study was affirming that plaque buildup was more prevalent in the male body compared to the female body. When fed the same diet this was proved repetitively. If find this piece interesting, because typically males have larger bodies that burn more calories. One would think this would result in them burning fat faster with the same diet and not run into this problem. Discussion feedback