International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Apr 2024)

Emerging Therapeutic Strategies in Sarcopenia: An Updated Review on Pathogenesis and Treatment Advances

  • Alfred Najm,
  • Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu,
  • Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu,
  • Mircea Beuran

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084300
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 25, no. 8
p. 4300

Abstract

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Sarcopenia is a prevalent degenerative skeletal muscle condition in the elderly population, posing a tremendous burden on diseased individuals and healthcare systems worldwide. Conventionally, sarcopenia is currently managed through nutritional interventions, physical therapy, and lifestyle modification, with no pharmaceutical agents being approved for specific use in this disease. As the pathogenesis of sarcopenia is still poorly understood and there is no treatment recognized as universally effective, recent research efforts have been directed at better comprehending this illness and diversifying treatment strategies. In this respect, this paper overviews the new advances in sarcopenia treatment in correlation with its underlying mechanisms. Specifically, this review creates an updated framework for sarcopenia, describing its etiology, pathogenesis, risk factors, and conventional treatments, further discussing emerging therapeutic approaches like new drug formulations, drug delivery systems, stem cell therapies, and tissue-engineered scaffolds in more detail.

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