Sarcopenia

Decoding Sarcopenia: Advances in Research and Management: Dive into the evolving landscape of sarcopenia research. From cutting-edge studies on its impact on cancer patients to innovative management strategies, gain insights into combating this muscle-wasting condition.

All Ageing Cachexia Cancer Cachexia Clinical Trials Exercise Frailty From the literature Guidelines Muscle Nutrition Other SCWD Events Sarcopenia

Cancer Cachexia Cachexia Exercise Muscle Sarcopenia

Cancer Cachexia: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies

This comprehensive review sheds light on cancer cachexia (CC), a significant condition marked by muscle wasting in cancer patients, emphasizing its molecular mechanisms and potential treatments. Highlighting the challenge CC presents, especially in older individuals, the article discusses the multifaceted approach needed to combat this syndrome.

🗓️ January 2024

📰 Publication: Clinical Nutrition

chemotherapy / cytokines / Inflammation

Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia Metrics and Quality of Life Components: What Is the Link?

Sarcopenia is known to be negatively associated with quality of life in affected patients. However, the individual impacts of its metrics, i.e. muscle mass, strength, and physical performance, on patients’ overall quality of life remain to be thoroughly investigated.

This pre-printed study aimed to characterise the associations between sarcopenia metrics and quality of life outcomes in community-dwelling older adults from the SOMMA (Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging) study. Health-related quality of life was ascertained using the EQ-5D questionnaire, which measures 5 subcomponents: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain and discomfort, as well as anxiety and depression.

From the literature Cancer Cachexia Muscle Sarcopenia

Hepatocellular carcinoma and sarcopenia: a narrative review

Sarcopenia (muscle wasting) is common in people with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Sarcopenia is associated with poor clinical outcomes in HCC…

Guidelines From the literature Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia and Type 2 Diabetes: A Bidirectional Relationship

Sarcopenia is characterised by age-related reductions in skeletal muscle strength, mass, and functional ability. Importantly, sarcopenia is a multifactorial condition associated with metabolic alterations, including poor glucose disposal, insulin resistance, decreased metabolic rate and, thus, type 2 diabetes (T2D). Developing non-pharmaceutical guidelines for the prevention and treatment of both diseases when they coexist is essential to optimise patient health and reduce premature mortality within this patient population.

This review aimed to examine 1) the pathophysiological link between sarcopenia and T2D, and 2) lifestyle interventions with the potential to mitigate both sarcopenia and T2D.

🗓️ 2023-09-17

📰 Publication: Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle 2023

Frailty From the literature Sarcopenia

Leucine-enriched Protein Supplementation for the Pre-frail: What Are the Benefits?

It is known that one in five adults with pre-frailty progresses to frailty over a 3-year period. Low protein and energy intake, increased prevalence of multimorbidity, and a sedentary lifestyle are well-characterised drivers of sarcopenia. Consequently, they act as catalysts of older adults’ transition to frailty. In this vein, stimulating increased muscle protein synthesis through regular physical exercise and protein-enriched diet consumption is pivotal for pre-frail older adults. Current U.S. Food and Nutrition Board guidelines recommend a dietary allowance of 0.8 g/kg of protein per day for older adults. However, this amount may be insufficient for those with pre-frailty due to their low-grade inflammation, multimorbidity, and increased susceptibility to anabolic resistance.

This study aimed to examine the impact of leucine-enriched protein supplementation with or without exercise on 1) physical function, 2) body composition, and 3) systemic inflammation in pre-frail older adults with a daily protein consumption of ≤1 g/kg.

From the literature Ageing Sarcopenia

Evaluating health-related quality of life in patients with sarcopenia

Understand how sarcopenia affects patients’ health-related quality of life and the importance of targeted HRQoL tools.

🗓️ 2023/05/04

📰 Publication: Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle

From the literature Ageing Sarcopenia

GDF-15: a mediator of exercise’s link with late-life weight loss?

Ageing is often associated with appetite reduction and ensuing weight loss. Although it is known that physical activity (PA) can prevent these ageing-related processes, the exact molecular mechanisms underpinning this ability remain unknown. Recent research has highlighted the role of exerkines, i.e. proteins released during and after PA, in controlling energy metabolism. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), a stress-signalling cytokine secreted during PA and involved in ageing, exercise, and appetite control, has emerged as a potential mediator of late-life, ageing-related weight loss.

This study aimed to explore the associations between PA, GDF-15, and body weight changes in older adults enrolled in the Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial over a 3-year period.

📰 Publication: Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle

From the literature Ageing Muscle Sarcopenia

Age-Related Spinal Deformity: a Consequence of Sarcopenia?

This study investigates the connection between sarcopenia and age-related spinal deformities, focusing on lumbar paravertebral muscles (PVM) quality and volume. Results show that sarcopenic patients have higher ectopic fat infiltration in PVM, contributing to spinal deformities, highlighting the importance of understanding and addressing sarcopenia in relation to spinal health.

📰 Publication: Spine 2022

From the literature Ageing Nutrition Sarcopenia

Appetite Loss, Malnutrition, and Mortality: a Significant Association in Need of Urgent Recognition?

This systematic literature review highlights the underrecognition of appetite loss in older adults and its association with malnutrition and mortality. The study underscores the urgent need for standardized screening and comprehensive guidelines to improve the assessment and management of appetite loss in this population.

📰 Publication: Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle 2023

Cancer Cachexia From the literature Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia and its Prognostic Value in Advanced Gastroesophageal Cancer

This study reveals the prognostic value of sarcopenia measurements in patients with advanced metastatic gastroesophageal cancer, showing its association with poor overall and progression-free survival. The findings highlight the importance of considering sarcopenia status alongside clinical variables for better prognostication.

Ageing From the literature Sarcopenia

Metabolic Dysfunction and Candidate Biomarkers: an Overview of Anorexia of Ageing

This article provides an overview of the current state of research on anorexia of ageing, its metabolic implications, and potential biomarkers, highlighting the need for further investigation into appetite regulation in older adults to improve health outcomes and personalized nutritional care.

Ageing From the literature Muscle Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia, unpreparedness, and the developing world: an urgent concern?

Muscle strength has recently been defined as sarcopenia’s main component by the revised European Working Group in Sarcopenia for Older People (EWGSOP2). This shift from muscle mass to strength has had transformative implications within clinical practice and has greatly facilitated sarcopenia’s diagnostic process. Despite this trailblazing consensus, sarcopenia remains an issue of growing concern throughout high-income countries (HICs). Although low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionately affected by the threat of sarcopenia, their care providers and healthcare systems seem to be the least prepared to tackle it.

The aim of this article is to expose the state of sarcopenia awareness and management in LMICs. It further proposes solutions to prepare the developing world for this growing concern.

From the literature Muscle Sarcopenia

PIH and sarcopenia in COPD: a causal relationship?

Nocturnal hypoxia commonly occurs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and in this context may be referred to as prolonged intermittent hypoxia (PIH). It is estimated that 1 in 5 COPD patients also suffer from sarcopenia, which may affect both respiratory and non-respiratory skeletal muscles and be causally linked to PIH. The presentation of sarcopenia alongside COPD is known to reduce quality of life and increase both hospitalisation and mortality rates in affected patients. Despite this, the adaptive cellular responses to PIH in skeletal muscle have not yet been adequately investigated.

The aim of this article was to discuss findings from a 2022 paper by Attaway and colleagues, which itself aimed to explore adaptive cellular responses to PIH.

Cancer Cachexia From the literature Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia, perioperative mortality and advanced ovarian cancer: a review

All types of ovarian cancers hold a high risk of morbidity and mortality for the patients. Currently, there are many efforts to assess ovarian cancer progression, to allow for the development of accurate treatment and management plans for preventing mortality in the long-term. A physical indicator of increased vulnerability is frailty. Frailty can lead to falls, hospitalisation and increased risk of death. Generally, frailty is closely associated with poor prognosis and shorter progression-free survival in many conditions, including ovarian cancer. However, diagnosing frailty is complex, due to a lack of a set definition and due to comorbidities appearing in older patients. Although this study draws useful conclusions, its limitation holds that some confounding factors could not be adjusted for, meaning further research is needed to understand the interplay between ovarian cancer and frailty.
This review by Can E et al. aimed to understand the prognostic value of frailty to predict complications and mortality in patients with ovarian cancer.

Cancer Cachexia From the literature Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia and age in cancer patients: a review

Currently, medical treatment for cancer is personalised by looking at genetic and molecular factors of cancer cells. However, for characterising patients, factors such as age, weight, BMI, comorbidities, etc are used. Hence, there is no set, universal variable(s) to be used in managing cancer. It is possible that this is the reason that many anticancer drugs perform poorly clinically, due to this variability between patients. One of the factors that can be used is chronological age, which defines the patient’s accumulated damage to their system. Age is an accurate predictor of various outcomes, including the outcomes of anticancer drug therapies. For example, patients between the ages of 65-69 are often less likely to respond well to chemotherapy. A way to index age is sarcopenia, but due to the complex, varying body compositions associated with tumour growth, it is difficult to use sarcopenia consistently as an index for age in cancer management.
This review by Laviano A aimed to explore variables, such as sarcopenia and ageing, in their effects on cancer and anticancer drug successes.

From the literature Exercise Muscle Sarcopenia

Exercise, nutrition, or combined interventions: which is the most effective treatment for sarcopenia?

Which intervention is more effective in improving sarcopenia in older adults? A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials…

📰 Publication: Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 2022

muscles / nutritional

SARCOPENIA DEFINITION

Sarcopenia is a condition which focuses on muscle loss. Loss of muscle mass and function, especially muscle strength and gait speed, associated with aging occurs in sarcopenia. Sarcopenia, cachexia, and malnutrition are considered as the main causes of muscle wasting and affect millions of elderly people and patients. Moreover, muscle atrophy can develop independently from diseases and age through disuse of the muscles. For a better classification and common language in medical science for ‘muscle wasting disease’ there is a proposal to combine the concepts of muscle wasting, sarcopenia, frailty, and cachexia by disease aetiology and disease progression. Patients with muscle atrophy show decreased muscle strength and therefore reduced quality of life, which is caused by a lower activity and increased exercise intolerance.

Despite a large number of studies, the understanding of the development of muscle wasting and the involved pathways remains very limited and more research is needed. Although many researchers and pharmaceutical companies have tried to find therapies for muscle atrophy, including cachexia and sarcopenia, no solution has been established until now.

REFERENCES

Rosenberg IH. Sarcopenia: origins and clinical relevance. Clin Geriatr Med 2011;27:337–339.

Anker SD, Coats AJ, Morley JE, Rosano G, Bernabei R, von Haehling S, Kalantar-Zadeh K. Muscle wasting disease: a proposal for a new disease classification. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2014;5:1–3

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