New Finding May Foil Age-Related Muscle Loss

January 6, 2010

If you're an aging baby boomer hoping for a buffer physique, there's hope. A

team of American scientists from Texas and Michigan have made a significant

discovery about the cause of age-related muscle atrophy that could lead to new

drugs to halt this natural process. This research, available online in the FASEB

Journal, shows that free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species, damage

mitochondria in muscle cells, leading to cell death and muscle atrophy. Now that

scientists understand the cause of age-related muscle loss, they can begin to

develop new drugs to halt the process.

" Age-related muscle atrophy in skeletal muscle is inevitable. However, we know

it can be slowed down or delayed, " said Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D., co-author of

the study, from the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging

Studies at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San . " Our

goal is to increase our understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying

sarcopenia to gain insight that will help us to discover therapeutic

interventions to slow or limit this process. "

To make this discovery, Van Remmen and colleagues used mice that were

genetically manipulated to prevent them from having a protective antioxidant

(CuZnSOD). As a result of not being able to produce this antioxidant, the mice

had very high levels of free radicals (reactive oxygen species) and lost muscle

mass and function at a much faster rate than normal mice. Additionally, the

muscles of the genetically modified mice were much smaller and weaker than those

of normal mice. Scientists believe that these findings mimic effects of the

normal aging process in humans, but at an accelerated rate.

" I don't expect to see baby boomers gracing the pages of body building magazines

tomorrow. But this research is important because it identifies molecules

responsible for the aging of our muscles: free radicals, " said Gerald Weissmann,

M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. " Stop these from acting and we'll

all look younger, stronger and fit at any age.

Source:

Cody Mooneyhan

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

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