The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Epidemiology of sarcopenia and insight into possible therapeutic targets

Epidemiology of sarcopenia and insight into possible therapeutic targets
Epidemiology of sarcopenia and insight into possible therapeutic targets
Musculoskeletal ageing is a major public health concern owing to demographic shifts in the population. Sarcopenia, generally defined as the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, is associated with considerable risk of falls, loss of independence in older adults and hospitalization with poorer health outcomes. This condition is therefore associated with increased morbidity and health care costs. As with bone mass, muscle mass and strength increase during late adolescence and early adulthood, but begin to decline substantially from ~50 years of age. Sarcopenia is characterized by many features, which include loss of muscle mass, altered muscle composition, infiltration with fat and fibrous tissue and alterations in innervation. A better understanding of these factors might help us to develop strategies that target these effects. To date, however, methodological challenges and controversies regarding how best to define the condition, in addition to uncertainty about what outcome measures to consider, have delayed research into possible therapeutic options. Most pharmacological agents investigated to date are hormonal, although new developments have seen the emergence of agents that target myostatin signalling to increase muscle mass. In this review we consider the current approaching for defining sarcopenia and discuss its epidemiology, pathogenesis, and potential therapeutic opportunities.
1759-4790
340-347
Dennison, Elaine M.
ee647287-edb4-4392-8361-e59fd505b1d1
Sayer, Avan A.
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Dennison, Elaine M.
ee647287-edb4-4392-8361-e59fd505b1d1
Sayer, Avan A.
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6

Dennison, Elaine M., Sayer, Avan A. and Cooper, Cyrus (2017) Epidemiology of sarcopenia and insight into possible therapeutic targets. Nature Rheumatology Reviews, 13, 340-347. (doi:10.1038/nrrheum.2017.60).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Musculoskeletal ageing is a major public health concern owing to demographic shifts in the population. Sarcopenia, generally defined as the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, is associated with considerable risk of falls, loss of independence in older adults and hospitalization with poorer health outcomes. This condition is therefore associated with increased morbidity and health care costs. As with bone mass, muscle mass and strength increase during late adolescence and early adulthood, but begin to decline substantially from ~50 years of age. Sarcopenia is characterized by many features, which include loss of muscle mass, altered muscle composition, infiltration with fat and fibrous tissue and alterations in innervation. A better understanding of these factors might help us to develop strategies that target these effects. To date, however, methodological challenges and controversies regarding how best to define the condition, in addition to uncertainty about what outcome measures to consider, have delayed research into possible therapeutic options. Most pharmacological agents investigated to date are hormonal, although new developments have seen the emergence of agents that target myostatin signalling to increase muscle mass. In this review we consider the current approaching for defining sarcopenia and discuss its epidemiology, pathogenesis, and potential therapeutic opportunities.

Text
Edited_1488216809_1 emd revisions final (2) - Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy
Text
Edited_1488216809_1 emd revisions final (2) - Accepted Manuscript
Download (81kB)
Text
Dennison figures NRR-16-202 v1 (3)
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 1 May 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 4 May 2017

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 431602
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431602
ISSN: 1759-4790
PURE UUID: b96ca2cf-bee8-4f5d-9771-e04e1fabcbf1
ORCID for Elaine M. Dennison: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3048-4961
ORCID for Cyrus Cooper: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3510-0709

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 10 Jun 2019 16:31
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 05:07

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Avan A. Sayer
Author: Cyrus Cooper ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×