Study finds this compound promotes healthy aging

The study, published in the journal Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, provides for the first time that BAM15, a mitochondrial decoupler, prevents sarcopenic obesity, or age-related muscle loss with concomitant increases in adipose tissue

"Loss of muscle mass is usually not a problem for obese young adults

After feeding BAM15, the frailty and frailty common to sarcopenic obesity in aged mice (equivalent to 60-65 years of age in humans) was counteracted

"Usually when you lose weight, you also lose muscle, and in some cases, a lot of muscle," says Axelrod

BAM15 works by reducing the efficiency of the cell's energy factories, the mitochondria

However, the findings on BAM15 have important implications for improving quality of life in older adults, especially in the rapidly growing obese population

Dr John Kirwan, Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical Sciences, said: "These data highlight that mitochondrial separators may play an important role in improving healthy lifespan - the time a person enjoys good health in old age

BAM15 improves many key determinants of health and aging, including:

• remove damaged mitochondria

• produce healthier mitochondria

• Reduced "inflammation," or age-related inflammation, associated with muscle loss

"Extending healthy lifespan is even more important than extending lifespan," Cowan said

Axelrod and Kirwan are corresponding authors of the study

The core facilities used in this study were supported in part by the Pennington Biomedical Center Biomedical Research Excellence Center (NIH grants 5P30GM118430 and 1P20GM135002) and the Nutritional Obesity Research Center (NIH grant P30DK072476)

Journal Reference :

1. Wagner S.