Sarcopenia: Pharmacology today and tomorrow
Journal of Pharocology and Experimental Theraputics August 28, 2012
Marco P Brotto brottom at umkc.edu, and Eduardo L Abreu
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Sarcopenia remains largely undiagnosed and undertreated, because of the lack of a universally accepted definition, effective ways to measure it, and identification of the outcomes that should guide treatment efficacy. An ever growing number of clinicians and researchers along with funding and regulatory agencies have gradually recognized that sarcopenia is a human condition that requires both prevention and treatment. In this "Pharmacology in Perspective: article, we briefly reviewed sarcopenia; its common and less known pharmacological treatments, and attempted to define sarcopenia in its broader context, and presented some new ideas for potential future treatment for this devastating condition. ?
Figure 1:Interventions
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The following is clipped from the PDF which is at the bottom of this page
d) Vitamin D:
It is now very well established that low levels of blood vitamin D levels are associated with decreased muscle strength and statin-induced myopathy, but vitamin D supplementation results are still under investigation. Given the beneficial results of calcium + vitamin D supplementation on bone function (Recker et al., 2006), it is expected that correcting vitamin D levels will also be beneficial for muscle function. Furthermore, results might also be dependent on the form of Vitamin D used and whether vitamin D intake is combined or not with calcium. We believe that it will be important to follow individuals longitudinally and test their muscle function as a function of age and levels of calcium plus vitamin D. In addition, vitamin D supplementation might be beneficial for overall health, since Lappe and colleagues have recently reported a 63% reduction in all types of cancers in subjects receiving vitamin D3 (figure 2C) supplementation (Lappe et al., 2007).
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Loss of muscle strength seems to happens when away from sunlight:
- Age – especially if in a senior center, no longer in parks, no longer gardening, etc.
- Long time in bed (hospital, etc)
- Long time in space
See also Vitamin D Life
- Added 1 lb of muscle to sarcopenia adults in 13 weeks with just 800 IU vitamin D and protein – RCT Jan 2017
- NASA thinks spacestation personnel only need 800 IU of vitamin D – Sept 2012 Loss of muscle strength while in space
- Sarcopenia (muscle loss) and Vitamin D many studies
- Osteosarcopenic obesity (obese with low bone and muscle mass) twice as likely if low vitamin D – Oct 2016
- Vitamin D and bicarbonate perhaps synergistically reduce muscle loss – June 2013
- Extraskeletal effects of vitamin D – May 2011 includes muscle loss
- Vitamin D improves muscle strength if deficient – meta-analysis - Oct 2010
- Overview Seniors and Vitamin D