About this Research Topic
Sarcopenia, originally identified as loss of muscle mass, has more recently been defined as loss of muscle mass, strength, and muscle composition. The latter conceptual approach is associated with lipid deposition in muscle, or myosteatosis. Interestingly, sarcopenia affects skeletal muscle, but not cardiac or smooth muscle. While decreases in muscle mass and strength commonly accompany aging, excessive loss leads to the pathologic condition of sarcopenia, which can predispose to frailty, falls, fractures, functional decline, disability, and death. In addition to progressive consequences of sarcopenia, its presence may impair ability to effectively treat other diseases such as cancer.
Sarcopenia is now considered a public health issue, estimated to affect 1-30% of community dwelling individuals, 14-33% of institutionalized patients, in nearly 25% of individuals over 65 years of age, and in 60% of those over 80. The condition is reported in as many as 50% of patients with cancer where it may vary with patient age and cancer type.
However, the overall prevalence of sarcopenia is somewhat difficult to define due to different indirect techniques to measure muscle mass, and lack of clear-cut points between normal and pathologic decrease. Development of sarcopenia appears to be multi-factorial and may be caused by multiple factors and processes in addition to aging. This includes nutritional deficiency or imbalance, lack of physical activity or sedentary behavior, hormonal imbalance, immunosenescence, mitochondrial-metabolic disfunction, inflammatory disorders, chronic diseases and changes in the intestinal microbiome. Malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies contributing to sarcopenia have been proposed for multiple classes of proteins, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and micronutrients including vitamins and minerals.
A particularly unique form of sarcopenia is the muscle loss and weakness that accompanies obesity, termed sarcopenic obesity (SO). This form is also prevalent worldwide, particularly in older adults and clinical settings. Individuals with SO are at higher risk of adverse outcomes, such as functional impairment and hospitalization.
Attempts to prevent or reverse sarcopenia have included multiple approaches, administered alone or in combination, including increasing physical activity using both aerobic and/or resistance exercise, in combination with multiple approaches to nutritional supplementation. Nonetheless, a clear understanding of mechanisms of sarcopenia and effective therapeutic strategies remains an important biomedical challenge and unmet need within clinical nutrition research. Further research is also needed to remove constraints imposed by sarcopenia on treatment of other coexisting pathologies such as cancer.
This Research Topic will therefore contribute to more clearly elucidating mechanisms contributing to the development of sarcopenia/SO, as well as identifying the optimal therapeutic strategies and dietary interventions for its prevention, reversal, and/or management. We are particularly interested in articles that deal with relations between sarcopenia, nutrition, physical activity and the potential impact of metabolic, lifestyle, and nutritional disturbances and disorders as well as therapeutic interventions.
We therefore welcome submissions that provide insight into but are not limited to the following themes:
• Mechanisms of sarcopenia development
• Mechanism-based and/or empirical trials aiming to prevent or reverse age associated sarcopenia and/or sarcopenia associated with other pathologies such as obesity and cancer.
• Exploration of the optimal dietary interventions for preventing or treating sarcopenia/SO.
• Optimal nutritional supplements for treating or preventing sarcopenia or SO, and their effectiveness and/or safety in different populations (e.g., type of protein, the optimal composition of essential amino acids, timing of nutrition intake).
• Establishing and validating innovative nutritional supplements for preventing or treating sarcopenia/SO in different populations.
• Establishing and validating novel predictive models for exploring the risk and/or the prognosis of malnutrition and/or sarcopenia/SO.
• Systematic summaries of the current evidence map of the nutritional supplements or dietary models for sarcopenia/SO.
Article types of interest include original research reports and perspectives, clinical trials, observational studies, hypothesis proposals and focused scoping or systematic reviews/meta-analyses.
Sarcopenia is now considered a public health issue, estimated to affect 1-30% of community dwelling individuals, 14-33% of institutionalized patients, in nearly 25% of individuals over 65 years of age, and in 60% of those over 80. The condition is reported in as many as 50% of patients with cancer where it may vary with patient age and cancer type.
However, the overall prevalence of sarcopenia is somewhat difficult to define due to different indirect techniques to measure muscle mass, and lack of clear-cut points between normal and pathologic decrease. Development of sarcopenia appears to be multi-factorial and may be caused by multiple factors and processes in addition to aging. This includes nutritional deficiency or imbalance, lack of physical activity or sedentary behavior, hormonal imbalance, immunosenescence, mitochondrial-metabolic disfunction, inflammatory disorders, chronic diseases and changes in the intestinal microbiome. Malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies contributing to sarcopenia have been proposed for multiple classes of proteins, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and micronutrients including vitamins and minerals.
A particularly unique form of sarcopenia is the muscle loss and weakness that accompanies obesity, termed sarcopenic obesity (SO). This form is also prevalent worldwide, particularly in older adults and clinical settings. Individuals with SO are at higher risk of adverse outcomes, such as functional impairment and hospitalization.
Attempts to prevent or reverse sarcopenia have included multiple approaches, administered alone or in combination, including increasing physical activity using both aerobic and/or resistance exercise, in combination with multiple approaches to nutritional supplementation. Nonetheless, a clear understanding of mechanisms of sarcopenia and effective therapeutic strategies remains an important biomedical challenge and unmet need within clinical nutrition research. Further research is also needed to remove constraints imposed by sarcopenia on treatment of other coexisting pathologies such as cancer.
This Research Topic will therefore contribute to more clearly elucidating mechanisms contributing to the development of sarcopenia/SO, as well as identifying the optimal therapeutic strategies and dietary interventions for its prevention, reversal, and/or management. We are particularly interested in articles that deal with relations between sarcopenia, nutrition, physical activity and the potential impact of metabolic, lifestyle, and nutritional disturbances and disorders as well as therapeutic interventions.
We therefore welcome submissions that provide insight into but are not limited to the following themes:
• Mechanisms of sarcopenia development
• Mechanism-based and/or empirical trials aiming to prevent or reverse age associated sarcopenia and/or sarcopenia associated with other pathologies such as obesity and cancer.
• Exploration of the optimal dietary interventions for preventing or treating sarcopenia/SO.
• Optimal nutritional supplements for treating or preventing sarcopenia or SO, and their effectiveness and/or safety in different populations (e.g., type of protein, the optimal composition of essential amino acids, timing of nutrition intake).
• Establishing and validating innovative nutritional supplements for preventing or treating sarcopenia/SO in different populations.
• Establishing and validating novel predictive models for exploring the risk and/or the prognosis of malnutrition and/or sarcopenia/SO.
• Systematic summaries of the current evidence map of the nutritional supplements or dietary models for sarcopenia/SO.
Article types of interest include original research reports and perspectives, clinical trials, observational studies, hypothesis proposals and focused scoping or systematic reviews/meta-analyses.
Keywords: Sarcopenia, Muscle wasting, muscle depletion, nutrients, nutritional supplements, malnutrition, undernutrition, muscle health, sarcopenic obesity
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
