Abstract
With extended life expectancy, the older population is constantly increasing, and consequently, so too is the prevalence of age-related disorders. Sarcopenia, the pathological age-related loss of muscle mass and function; and malnutrition, the imbalance in nutrient intake and resultant energy production, are both commonly occurring conditions in old adults. Altered nutrition plays a crucial role in the onset of sarcopenia, and both these disorders are associated with detrimental consequences for patients (e.g., frailty, morbidity, and mortality) and society (e.g., healthcare costs). Importantly, sarcopenia and malnutrition also share critical molecular alterations, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, increased oxidative stress, and a chronic state of low grade and sterile inflammation, defined as inflammageing. Given the connection between malnutrition and sarcopenia, nutritional interventions capable of affecting mitochondrial health and correcting inflammageing are emerging as possible strategies to target sarcopenia. Here, we discuss mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammageing as key features leading to sarcopenia. Moreover, we examine the effects of some branched amino acids, omega-3 PUFA, and selected micronutrients on these pathways, and their potential role in modulating sarcopenia, warranting further clinical investigation.
Highlights
The life expectancy of an average person has doubled during the last century; the elderly population is rapidly increasing
Several reviews investigated the role for nutritional interventions in rescuing sarcopenia, here we propose an original translational approach unravelling the link between mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and 4 ofbe ageing with their impact on sarcopenia, highlighting how a nutritional strategy may optimized to mitigate cellular senescence and, sarcopenia at clinical level
From a clinical point of view, sarcopenia is characterized by a progressive decrease in muscle mass, causing a deterioration in strength and physical performance, contributing to frailty and, mortality
Summary
The life expectancy of an average person has doubled during the last century; the elderly population is rapidly increasing. The term sarcopenia indicates a condition characterized by reduced muscle mass and muscle strength (“Dynapenia”), leading to an impairment in physical performance [1]. Sarcopenia is associated with poor health outcomes, such as functional decline, falls, fractures, depression, and mortality [1], which increases health care costs and decreases quality of life in older patients [2,3,4]. A contributing factor to sarcopenia under-diagnosis is the diversity of diagnostic criteria; recently, these criteria have evolved (Table 1). The more ancient criteria are essentially based on the reduction of muscle mass regardless of its effect on muscle strength and performance [5,6], whereas the more recent criteria are stricter [7,8,9]
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