Comprehensive Approach to Sarcopenia Treatment

Abstract

Sarcopenia is characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse outcomes such as physical disability, poor quality of life, and death. Primary sarcopenia is considered to be age-related when no other cause is evident, other than ageing itself. Secondary sarcopenia should be considered when one or more other causes are evident, such as activity-, disease-, or nutrition-related sarcopenia. In this narrative review that focused on human studies, we summarize the pharmaceutical therapies (testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, estrogen, growth hormone, ghrelin, vitamin D, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, and eicosapentaenoic acid) and nonpharmaceutical therapies (resistance training, protein and amino acid supplementation, and non-smoking) for counteracting primary sarcopenia. Testosterone and growth hormone improve muscle mass and muscle strength, but have several side effects. Although there are some intriguing pharmaceutical therapies to combat sarcopenia, resistance training combined with supplements containing amino acids are the most effective for preventing and treating age-related muscle wasting and weakness. The etiology of sarcopenia in the elderly is multi-factorial. Patients with disuse syndrome and deconditioning often complicate the diagnosis, of not only activity-related sarcopenia, but also age-, disease-, and nutrition-related sarcopenia. In these cases a comprehensive approach to sarcopenia treatment should include pharmaceutical therapies for age-related sarcopenia and comorbid chronic diseases, resistance training, early ambulation, nutrition management, protein and amino acid supplementation, and non-smoking. The effect of pharmaceutical therapies for sarcopenia can be enhanced by this comprehensive approach. Future research on pharmaceutical therapies for counteracting sarcopenia should consider non-pharmaceutical therapies and also the causes of sarcopenia.