Sarcopenia is the loss of mass and function of skeletal muscle that occurs with ‘usual’ ageing. Sarcopenia includes loss of muscle quantity and quality along with the loss of motor neurons that enable muscles to contract which together contribute to the loss of strength and especially muscle power. There is also a reduced ability for the muscle to repair and recover. In addition, there is a progressive increase in oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and associated pain and discomfort that afflict the whole body.
Muscle plays a huge role in immunity because muscles supply the immune system with the glutamine required to make immune cells; so the loss of muscle also causes a loss of immune function.
Sarcopenia also contributes to declining brain function with age through multiple mechanisms; one simple example is the reduction of blood flow (and thus oxygen delivery) which would normally be assisted by muscular contractions.
Sarcopenia often goes unrecognised, as the process is fairly slow, about a 0.5-1% loss of muscle mass per year after the age of 25, and is often concomitantly accompanied by fat gain which masks its appearance; so it regularly goes on unopposed.
To allow such a pivotal player in disease and dysfunction to develop is crazy especially when it’s relatively easy to prevent. Part of the answer is in the image.
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