Why Muscles Weaken with Age

[TECH NEWS]

Researchers at Columbia Univ. Medical Center have discovered the biological mechanism behind age-related loss of muscle strength and identified a drug that may help reverse this process. Their findings were published in the online edition of Cell Metabolism. As we grow older, our skeletal muscles tend to wither and weaken, a phenomenon known as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia, which begins to appear at around age 40 and accelerates after 75, is a major cause of disability in the elderly. Exercise can help counter the effects of age-related muscle loss. Otherwise, there are no established treatments. According to the new study, conducted in mice, sarcopenia occurs when calcium leaks from a group of proteins in muscle cells called the ryanodine receptor channel complex. These leaks then trigger a chain of events that ultimately limits the ability of muscle fibers to contract, reports study leader Andrew Marks, professor of physiology and cellular biophysics at Columbia Univ. Medical Center (CUMC). The study also points to a possible therapy for sarcopenia: an experimental drug called S107, developed by Marks and his colleagues. The drug acts by stabilizing calstabin1, a protein that binds to ryanodine receptors and prevents calcium leakage.

8/3/2011, Laboratory Equipment