Sarcopenia

What is sarcopenia?

Muscle dysfunction is a universal problem that affects everyone as we age. A loss of muscle mass and function (strength, speed of contraction, power) contributes to impaired activities of daily living, increased dependence and frailty, and reduced quality of life.

Gap in our understanding

The etiologies of sarcopenia are multifactorial and only partly understood. Several suggested pathways in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia include cellular quality control mechanisms, mitochondrial biogenesis, and oxidative stress. Currently, there is a lack of evidence on when these pathways induce sarcopenia, if and how these pathways synergize together to induce age-related muscle dysfunction, and if it is possible to intervene.

Identifying ‘the players’ contributing to skeletal muscle dysfunction

The goal of our research team is to uncover novel pathways involved in sarcopenia in the hopes of designing effective interventions to prevent, delay, or reverse, muscle loss and weakness in the elderly. Our lab uses preclinical mice models to tease out the roles of the various cellular pathway, using animal performance, muscle and protein function/structure, and metabolic investigations.