Muscle aging and sarcopenia: The pathology, etiology, and most promising therapeutic targets.
Abstract
Sarcopenia is a progressive muscle wasting disorder that severely impacts the quality of life of elderly individuals. Although the natural aging process primarily causes sarcopenia, it can develop in response to other conditions. Because muscle function is influenced by numerous changes that occur with age, the etiology of sarcopenia remains unclear. However, recent characterizations of the aging muscle transcriptional landscape, signaling pathway disruptions, fiber and extracellular matrix compositions, systemic metabolomic and inflammatory responses, mitochondrial function, and neurological inputs offer insights and hope for future treatments. This review will discuss age-related changes in healthy muscle and our current understanding of how this can deteriorate into sarcopenia. As our elderly population continues to grow, we must understand sarcopenia and find treatments that allow individuals to maintain independence and dignity throughout an extended lifespan.
The following analysis is generated by AI and may contain errors. It is separate from the authors’ abstract and is not peer review.
Research summary
The paper addresses sarcopenia, a significant age-related condition that affects muscle health and quality of life in the elderly. It discusses the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets, which are relevant to understanding and potentially mitigating aspects of aging. However, while it provides a solid overview of the current understanding of sarcopenia, it does not present groundbreaking findings or novel approaches that would significantly advance the field, thus earning a moderate impact score.
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