Abstract
Sarcopenia is an age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass caused by many cellular mechanisms and also by lifestyle factors such as low daily physical activity. In addition, it has been shown that sarcopenia may be associated with inflammation and cognitive impairment in old age. Regular exercise is key in reducing inflammation and preventing sarcopenia and diseases related to cognitive impairment. The study was designed to assess the impact of exercise training on circulating apoptotic and inflammatory markers of sarcopenia in older adults. Eighty older adults aged 70.5 ± 5.8 years were randomized to the physically active group who participated in a 10-month Tai-Chi training session (TC, n = 40) and the control group who participated in health education sessions (HE, n = 40). Tai-Chi training caused a significant decrease in fat mass (FM) by 3.02 ± 3.99%, but an increase in appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) by 1.76 ± 3.17% and gait speed by 9.07 ± 11.45%. Tai-Chi training elevated the plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNFα), and tumor necrosis receptor factor II (TNFRII), and decreased caspases 8 and 9. Despite the increase in TNFα, apoptosis was not initiated, i.e., the cell-free DNA level did not change in the TC group. The study demonstrated that Tai-Chi training significantly reduced the symptoms of sarcopenia through the changes in body composition and physical performance, and improvements in cytokine-related mechanisms of apoptosis.
Highlights
The body mass index (BMI) in the Tai-Chi training (TC) group ranged from 18.8 to 33.4 kg/m2, whereas in the health education (HE) group, the BMI amounted to between 21.4 and 32.5 kg/m2 (Table 2). In both groups, approximately 20% of the study subjects were classified as obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 ), 52% as overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9) and 27% as normal weight
The BMI value was highly correlated with fat mass content in the TC group (r = 0.879, p < 0.0001) and HE group (r = 0.939, p < 0.0001)
In the subjects with a high percentage of fat mass (FM%), the concentration of hsCRP was detected at >3 mg/L, which confirms the relationship between the increased fat content and the severity of inflammatory processes in the elderly
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Aging of skeletal muscles is associated with qualitative and quantitative changes in the muscle structure and function [1,2]. According to the latest definition, sarcopenia is a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder that is associated with an increased likelihood of adverse outcomes, including falls, fractures, physical disability and mortality [3,4]. Studies show that sarcopenia affects 5–13% of people aged 60–70 and 11–50%
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