scholarly journals Motor unit number and transmission stability in octogenarian world class athletes: Can age-related deficits be outrun?

2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 1013-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey A. Power ◽  
Matti D. Allen ◽  
Kevin J. Gilmore ◽  
Daniel W. Stashuk ◽  
Timothy J. Doherty ◽  
...  

Our group has shown a greater number of functioning motor units (MU) in a cohort of highly active older (∼65 yr) masters runners relative to age-matched controls. Because of the precipitous loss in the number of functioning MUs in the eighth and ninth decades of life it is unknown whether older world class octogenarian masters athletes (MA) would also have greater numbers of functioning MUs compared with age-matched controls. We measured MU numbers and neuromuscular transmission stability in the tibialis anterior of world champion MAs (∼80 yr) and compared the values with healthy age-matched controls (∼80 yr). Decomposition-enhanced spike-triggered averaging was used to collect surface and intramuscular electromyography signals during dorsiflexion at ∼25% of maximum voluntary isometric contraction. Near fiber (NF) MU potential analysis was used to assess neuromuscular transmission stability. For the MAs compared with age-matched controls, the amount of excitable muscle mass (compound muscle action potential) was 14% greater ( P < 0.05), there was a trend ( P = 0.07) toward a 27% smaller surface-detected MU potential representative of less collateral reinnervation, and 28% more functioning MUs ( P < 0.05). Additionally, the MAs had greater MU neuromuscular stability than the controls, as indicated by lower NF jitter and jiggle values ( P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that high-performing octogenarians better maintain neuromuscular stability of the MU and mitigate the loss of MUs associated with aging well into the later decades of life during which time the loss of muscle mass and strength becomes functionally relevant. Future studies may identify the concomitant roles genetics and exercise play in neuroprotection.

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (28) ◽  
pp. 3005-3010
Author(s):  
Georges Samouri ◽  
Alexandre Stouffs ◽  
Lionel V. Essen ◽  
Olivier Simonet ◽  
Marc De Kock ◽  
...  

Introduction: The monitoring of the curarisation is a unique opportunity to investigate the function of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) during cancer surgery, especially in frailty-induced and age-related sarcopenia. Method: We conducted a comprehensive literature review in PubMed, without any limit of time related to frailty, sarcopenia, age and response to neuromuscular blockers in the context of cancer surgery. Results: Several modifications appear with age: changes in cardiac output, a decrease in muscle mass and increase in body fat, the deterioration in renal and hepatic function, the plasma clearance and the volume of distribution in elderly are smaller. These changes can be exacerbated in cancer patients. We also find modifications of the NMJ: dysfunctional mitochondria, modifications in the innervation of muscle fibers and motor units, uncoupling of the excitation-contraction of muscle fibers, inflammation. : Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) compete with acetylcholine and prevent it from fixing itself on its receptor. Many publications reported guidelines for using NMBAs in the elderly, based on studies comparing old people with young people. : No one screened frailty before, and thus, no studies compared frail elderly and non-frail elderly undergoing cancer surgery. Conclusion: Despite many studies about curarisation in the specific populations, and many arguments for a potential interest for investigation, no studies investigated specifically the response to NMBAs in regard of the frailty-induced and age-related sarcopenia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3032
Author(s):  
Anna Picca ◽  
Riccardo Calvani

Sarcopenia involves a progressive age‐related decline of skeletal muscle mass and strength/function [...]


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiya Börsch ◽  
Daniel J. Ham ◽  
Nitish Mittal ◽  
Lionel A. Tintignac ◽  
Eugenia Migliavacca ◽  
...  

AbstractSarcopenia, the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, affects 5–13% of individuals aged over 60 years. While rodents are widely-used model organisms, which aspects of sarcopenia are recapitulated in different animal models is unknown. Here we generated a time series of phenotypic measurements and RNA sequencing data in mouse gastrocnemius muscle and analyzed them alongside analogous data from rats and humans. We found that rodents recapitulate mitochondrial changes observed in human sarcopenia, while inflammatory responses are conserved at pathway but not gene level. Perturbations in the extracellular matrix are shared by rats, while mice recapitulate changes in RNA processing and autophagy. We inferred transcription regulators of early and late transcriptome changes, which could be targeted therapeutically. Our study demonstrates that phenotypic measurements, such as muscle mass, are better indicators of muscle health than chronological age and should be considered when analyzing aging-related molecular data.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Laura Salvadori ◽  
Manuela Mandrone ◽  
Tommaso Manenti ◽  
Catia Ercolani ◽  
Luca Cornioli ◽  
...  

Background: Muscle atrophy, i.e., the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is an unresolved problem associated with aging (sarcopenia) and several pathological conditions. The imbalance between myofibrillary protein breakdown (especially the adult isoforms of myosin heavy chain, MyHC) and synthesis, and the reduction of muscle regenerative potential are main causes of muscle atrophy. Methods: Starting from one-hundred dried hydroalcoholic extracts of medical plants, we identified those able to contrast the reduction of C2C12 myotube diameter in well-characterized in vitro models mimicking muscle atrophy associated to inflammatory states, glucocorticoid treatment or nutrient deprivation. Based on their ability to rescue type II MyHC (MyHC-II) expression in atrophying conditions, six extracts with different phytochemical profiles were selected, mixed in groups of three, and tested on atrophic myotubes. The molecular mechanism underpinning the effects of the most efficacious formulation, and its efficacy on myotubes obtained from muscle biopsies of young and sarcopenic subjects were also investigated. Results: We identified WST (Withania somnifera, Silybum marianum, Trigonella foenum-graecum) formulation as extremely efficacious in protecting C2C12 myotubes against MyHC-II degradation by stimulating Akt (protein kinase B)-dependent protein synthesis and p38 MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase)/myogenin-dependent myoblast differentiation. WST sustains trophism in C2C12 and young myotubes, and rescues the size, developmental MyHC expression and myoblast fusion in sarcopenic myotubes. Conclusion: WST strongly counteracts muscle atrophy associated to different conditions in vitro. The future validation in vivo of our results might lead to the use of WST as a food supplement to sustain muscle mass in diffuse atrophying conditions, and to reverse the age-related functional decline of human muscles, thus improving people quality of life and reducing social and health-care costs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (1.2) ◽  
pp. 151-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiko Sato ◽  
Teruhiro Morishita ◽  
Takafumi Katayama ◽  
Shigeko Satomura ◽  
Hiroko Okuno ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Li ◽  
H Cui ◽  
B Sandstedt ◽  
H Nordlinder ◽  
E Larsson ◽  
...  

Abstract We have studied the insulin-like growth factor-II gene (IGF2) promoter usage in normal human liver from fetal to late adult life by quantifying the specific transcripts by RNase protection assays using exon-specific probes. While the fetal liver uses only three promoters (P2, P3, P4) for the transcription of IGF2, all four promoters can be used from the age of 2 months after birth. The levels of the individual promoter transcripts vary substantially during development and the P3 promoter, which is a highly active fetal promoter, was not used by all the investigated adult patients but was detected in 30% of the adult group as a whole. The PI promoter, which has previously been considered as the only one responsible for IGF2 transcription in the postnatal/adult liver, displayed a trend of increasing relative and absolute activity throughout life, but in some adult cases it was found to be less active than the P4 promoter. The P4 promoter displayed an age-related trend of decreasing activity from a very high fetal level, but individual exceptions were apparent. The P2 promoter transcript, peaking at the age of 2 months, showed a relatively even absolute amount from 18 months onwards. Thus, while P2 and P3 were both found to reach their highest activity after birth, the P4 promoter displayed its highest transcription at the fetal stage. The total IGF2 transcription, primarily from P2, P3 and P4, was found to peak shortly after birth. After this age, the P3 promoter transcript declined most rapidly and a low or zero amount was detected in adulthood. From the age of 18 months to old adulthood the total IGF2 mRNA, derived primarily from P1, P2 and P4, displayed a relatively even amount (approximately one tenth) of that seen at the peak at 2 months. This data may be important in relation to translatability of the various IGF2 transcripts. Journal of Endocrinology (1996) 149, 117–124


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Cvecka ◽  
Veronika Tirpakova ◽  
Milan Sedliak ◽  
Helmut Kern ◽  
Winfried Mayr ◽  
...  

Aging is a multifactorial irreversible process associated with significant decline in muscle mass and neuromuscular functions. One of the most efficient methods to counteract age-related changes in muscle mass and function is physical exercise. An alternative effective intervention to improve muscle structure and performance is electrical stimulation. In the present work we present the positive effects of physical activity in elderly and a study where the effects of a 8-week period of functional electrical stimulation and strength training with proprioceptive stimulation in elderly are compared.


1993 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 2125-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Coggan ◽  
A. M. Abduljalil ◽  
S. C. Swanson ◽  
M. S. Earle ◽  
J. W. Farris ◽  
...  

To examine effects of aging and endurance training on human muscle metabolism during exercise, 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to study the metabolic response to exercise in young (21–33 yr) and older (58–68 yr) untrained and endurance-trained men (n = 6/group). Subjects performed graded plantar flexion exercise with the right leg, with metabolic responses measured using a 31P surface coil placed over the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle. Muscle biopsy samples were also obtained for determination of citrate synthase activity. Rate of increase in P(i)-to-phosphocreatine ratio with increasing power output was greater (P < 0.01) in older untrained [0.058 +/- 0.022 (SD) W-1] and trained men (0.042 +/- 0.010 W-1) than in young untrained (0.038 +/- 0.017 W-1) and trained men (0.024 +/- 0.010 W-1). Plantar flexor muscle cross-sectional area and volume (determined using 1H magnetic resonance imaging) were 11–12% (P < 0.05) and 16–18% (P < 0.01) smaller, respectively, in older men. When corrected for this difference in muscle mass, age-related differences in metabolic response to exercise were reduced by approximately 50% but remained significant (P < 0.05). Citrate synthase activity was approximately 20% lower (P < 0.001) in older untrained and trained men than in corresponding young groups and was inversely related to P(i)-phosphocreatine slope (r = -0.63, P < 0.001). Age-related reductions in exercise capacity were associated with an altered muscle metabolic response to exercise, which appeared to be due to smaller muscle mass and lower muscle respiratory capacity of older subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry J. Housh ◽  
Jeffrey R. Stout ◽  
Dona J. Housh ◽  
Glen O. Johnson

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the covariate influence of estimated muscle mass on age-related increases in isokinetic peak torque for flexion and extension of the forearm and leg in high school wrestlers. One hundred thirteen high school wrestlers volunteered to be measured for strength at 30, 180, and 300°·s−1. Underwater weighing was performed to determine body composition characteristics, and the anthropometric equation of Martin et al. (10) was used to estimate total skeletal muscle mass (MM). There were significant (p < .05) relationships (r = .19 to .37) for age versus peak torque covaried independently for fat-free weight (FFW) and MM for forearm flexion at 30, 180, and 300°·s−1; forearm extension at 180 and 300°·s−1; and leg extension at 30, 180 and 300°·s−1. The results of this study indicated that there was no increase across age in MM per unit of FFW, and the age-related increases in peak torque in high school wrestlers could not be fully accounted for by changes in MM.


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