Active clinical trials for "Sarcopenia"

The pilot study is to assess the feasibility of using a new method to measure muscle mass called Deuterated Creatine (D3Cr) method and thereby understand the role of muscle mass on functional outcomes in older adults.

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of age-related progressive decline in muscle mass and strength (Sarcopenia) among Malaysian elderly residing in long-term care facilities. It is a very important condition to study as it is associated with high incidence of fall, hospitalization and mortality.

The goal of this research study is to learn more about the hormones that muscles make during exercise, and if those hormones are associated with type 2 diabetes risk in adults who are overweight or obese. Participants will undergo exercise testing on an upright bicycle, with blood samples taken for muscle hormones before and after exercise. The hypothesis is that adults with overweight/obesity and insulin resistance will have an impaired muscle hormone profile in response to exercise compared to adults with overweight/obesity who are not insulin resistant.

The age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, also termed sarcopenia, is a commonly recognized consequence of aging and has been associated with frailty, functional loss, hospitalization, and increased mortality among older people. Sarcopenia and its consequences have a considerable economic impact, since it has been estimated that the healthcare cost attributable to sarcopenia in the US in 2000 was $ 18.5 billions. Preclinical animal models strongly suggest that apoptosis, a programmed cell death, might play a prominent role in the age-related muscle wasting. In specific aim one, the investigators will assess the extent of muscle apoptosis in muscle biopsies obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle of young control subjects (ages 20-35) and high-performance and low-performance older subjects (age range 70-99 years). In specific aim 2, the investigators will investigate the role of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in the induction of skeletal muscle apoptosis. In specific aim 3, the investigators propose to investigate the contribution of the muscle energy deficit, due to the age-related mitochondrial dysfunction, in the development of muscle wasting. Finally, in specific aim 4, the investigators propose to reassess after four years physical performance, muscle mass and the extent of muscle apoptosis, in the high-performing participants, in order to correlate eventual decline in physical function, muscle mass and functional status, with changes in muscle apoptosis and in biochemical parameters in this very old population. Physical performance will be established according to the summary performance score obtained in the Short Form Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). In addition to the SPPB the investigators will also employ hand grip strength and knee extensor strength tests and the investigators will quantify muscle contractile area using 3D magnetic resonance imaging. Disability will be assessed using a self-report questionnaire. These studies will enhance our understanding of the biology and pathophysiology underlying the geriatric syndrome of sarcopenia and provide significant and novel insights that will enable us to identify new potential targets for interventions aimed at preventing and treating sarcopenia and functional impairment in older adults.

Our goal is to develop and test a new imaging technique to help scientists study sarcopenia, the process by which muscle becomes weaker with age. This imaging technique uses Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) scanners to measure the ability of muscle to synthesize new protein. This ability to build new muscle protein is known as the Protein Synthesis Rate, and is thought to decline as people age and to contribute to muscle weakening. We are researching this technique in order to develop a tool to help scientists and physicians better understand how muscle ages and how it changes based on some stimulus, such as when people eat a high protein meal, exercise, or take muscle-building drugs. If our research is successful, it will provide a new method for scientists and physicians to test the effectiveness of new drugs and other treatments for muscle weakness. The study will look for healthy woman between the ages of 65 and 80.

Patients will be recruited on each site according to inclusion criteria. Participants willing to participate will received an information sheet and a consent form. After given their consent to participate, they will receive a questionnaire composed of 13 choice questions. In this DCE, patients will be asked to choose which one of two hypothetical patients (Patient A and Patient B) suffering from sarcopenia with different levels of outcomes deserves the most the treatment. After completion of the choice tasks, respondents will be asked how difficult they found the choice tasks on a seven-point scale and to questions on their socio-economic and disease characteristics.

This study evaluates the effects of exercise intervention on muscle strength and walking speed for the community-dwelling elderly. Half of the participants will receive exercise training, while the other half will maintain their usual activities of daily living.

Sarcopenia is the decline of muscle mass and strength with age. Evidence suggests that oxidative stress and molecular inflammation play important roles in age-related muscle atrophy. The two factors may interfere with the balance between protein synthesis and breakdown, cause mitochondrial dysfunction, and induce apoptosis. Sarcopenia, inflammation and oxidative stress is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients and may contribute to mortality. The copy number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is affected by oxidative stress in blood circulation. This study aimed to test whether mtDNA copy number correlates with oxidative stress and some uremic toxins in nondiabetic hemodialysis(HD) patients. 200 nondiabetic hemodialysis patients and 50 healthy subjects will be enrolled. This study will be performed to investigate quantitative changes in mtDNA occur in HD patients with and without sarcopenia. Copy number of mtDNA in leukocyte DNA is determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction in HD patients and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects. In addition, correlation of the alterations of albumin redox status, 8-isoprostane, plasma IL-6 ,LBP and TNF-a and as well as various uremic toxins will be performed.

Aging is characterized by low-grade inflammatory state, supported by impairment oxidative balance and endocrine changes, leading to changes in: body composition, such as decrease in lean body mass and increase in adipose tissue; resting metabolic rate; immune function; cognitive impairment. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics all subjects over the age of 60 should be able to access to adequate nutrition and appropriate nutritional services. In order to ensure healthy aging and to reduce effects of specific diseases, recommendations are needed for illness and disability in this population, as well as adequate physical activity and specific support programs, culturally accepted. The aim of this study is to evaluate eating habits in term of food consumption, health state and lifestyle in a sample of free-living elderly over the age of 65, living in Milan and surroundings. In particular, profiling of the elderly population is performed using a survey in which information are collected on methods, contexts, time and ability to buy, prepare, consume and dispose of and recycle food. Eating habits and knowledge about food are detected through the analysis of food consumption frequencies, and lifestyle by assessing the level of physical activity, quality of sleep, smoking habit. Weight status and health status are evaluated through anthropometric measurements, body composition (bioelectrical impedance) and strength test. Other information relating to social participation and other socio-demographic variables (age, gender, family composition, socio-economic status) are collected to have a completed profiling of target population. Achieved results will help us to identify factors on which acting to ensure healthy aging and counteract inflammaging, the chronic low-grade systemic inflammation characteristic in the aging process. Moreover, the study allows increasing the knowledge related to the needs and requirements of the target population to determine a good food policy and to increase the elderly empowerment.

Insulin resistance (IR) is an early metabolic alteration in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, becoming almost universal in those who reach the end stage of kidney failure. The skeletal muscle represents the primary site of IR in CKD, and alterations at sites beyond the insulin receptor are recognized as the main defect underlying IR in this condition. The etiology of IR in CKD is multifactorial in nature and may be secondary to disturbances that are prominent in renal diseases, including physical inactivity, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, vitamin D deficiency, metabolic acidosis, anemia, adipokine derangement, and altered gut microbiome. IR has been solidly associated with intermediate mechanisms leading to cardiovascular (CV) disease in CKD including left ventricular hypertrophy, vascular dysfunction, and atherosclerosis. Recent studies have identified a muscle factor β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), which is produced by skeletal muscle during physical activity. BAIBA have been found to link with sedentary life style, abdominal obesity, and impairments in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. A few studies have shown that BAIBA can protect from diet-induced obesity in animal models. It induces transition of white adipose tissue to a "beige" phenotype, which induces fatty acids oxidation and increases insulin sensitivity. While the exact mechanisms of BAIBA-induced metabolic effects are still not well understood, the aim of this study is want to study its relationship with muscle wasting and insulin resistance in a group of non-diabetic hemodialysis patients.