2023-05-12 15:34:59
Sarcopenia is a muscle condition whose main symptom is muscle wasting and loss of strength. People over 70 are the main victims. It develops over time but following the age of 80 it affects all elderly people, even those considered to be in good health. This muscle weakness increases the risk of falls, fractures, addiction and resistance to disease.
Sarcopenia was classified, very recently, in 2018, as a disease. The word itself has only been around since 1989. Its definition is still the subject of discussion among scientists.. Dominique Dardevet, co-director of theHuman Nutrition research unit at theINRAE of Clermont-Ferrandspecialist in the subject, defines the disease as “loss of muscle mass and muscle strength due to aging“. He distinguishes this disease from cachexia, a syndrome whose main symptom is also muscle wasting, but which is observed in people with diseases (kidney failure, cancer, AIDS, etc.) and prevents them from eating properly Unlike cachexia, sarcopenia is specifically age-related.
Sarcopenia results in a progressive, then sudden wasting of the muscles
From the age of 40, scientists note a gradual decrease in muscle mass. This decrease is not necessarily accompanied by weight loss. Dominique Dardevet specifies: “Often this so-called lean muscle mass is replaced by fat mass, so muscle loss goes unnoticed.. On average, this muscle wasting accelerates from the age of 60. Men are more affected than women, but from the age of 85 the gender difference fades.
The accidents of life accelerate the process: “A person cast for eight weeks can lose 30% of their muscle mass; for an elderly person, this type of accident will have significant consequences, they will not completely recover their muscle, and they will reach a new level of muscle deficit”, completes the INRAE researcher. Physicians must therefore monitor the appearance of sarcopenia in their elderly patients following immobilization, illness or any other accident in life (death of a loved one).
How to diagnose sarcopenia? If the loss of muscle mass can be observed by different techniques, doctors are looking[…]
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