Nat Commun: Study reveals causes of muscle weakness in older adults

February 12, 2021 /--- -- A new large-scale genetic analysis has discovered the biological mechanisms that make people more prone to muscle weakness later in life, and found that diseases such as osteoarthritis and diabetes may play an important role in the former's susceptivity.
as we get older, we lose muscle strength, and in some people this severe weakness affects their ability to daily life, a condition known as muscle reduction.
10 per cent of people over the age of 50 suffer from muscle loss.
are thought to affect the likelihood of developing the disease, which is associated with higher mortality rates.
(Photo Source: Www.pixabay.com) In a genetic analysis of more than 250,000 people over 60 from the British Biobank and 21 other cohorts, an international team led by researchers at the University of Exeter studied grip strength and used a threshold for muscle loss based on the international definition of muscle dystrophicity.
then, a team of researchers, including collaborators from the United States and the Netherlands, conducted genetic analysis and found that specific biological mechanisms pushed some people toward muscle dystrophobia while protecting others.
study, published in Nature Communications, identified 15 regions of the genome or gene base associated with muscle weakness, including 12 gene constellations that were not previously covered in successive measurements of grip strength.
biomarkers in the blood, including red blood cells and inflammation, may also be causally linked to muscle reduction.
results together highlight the need to intervene or identify specific areas with the highest risk.
, lead author of the study, said: "The closest link we found was in the genomic regions that regulate the immune system, as well as in the growth and development of muscle and bone systems.
, however, we have also found areas of the gene associated with muscles that were previously unknown.
"We found that our analysis of muscle weakness in older people has a common genetic pathway to metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and autoimmune diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
, muscle strength may be key to attention and prevention in those at higher risk of these diseases.
"We hope that by understanding the genetic factors that lead to muscle weakness as we age, we will be able to highlight possible treatment interventions early in life that will lead to a happier, healthier old age."
" (Bioon.com) Source: New research identifies biologicals of causes of muscle in later life Source: Garan Jones et al. Genome-wide meta-analysis of muscle weakness identifies 15 susceptibility loci in older men and women, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-20918-w