Lean, Mean, Helping Machine

One of the fears many people have while aging is the loss of physical mobility on top of common aches and pains that come with old age. Several scientists at the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife are working on a project that looks into the genetics of people with lean body mass and how having such genetics can help deter physical deterioration of ones body during aging. Since lean mass is associated with muscle mass these scientist have been looking at those who have inherited the genes of lean mass to find possible treatments for aging folks who have not been so lucky to have this gene passed to them. One of the most common conditions that older people have that causes their muscle mass to be reduced significantly is sarcopenia; losing high amounts of muscle mass opens the door for other physical problems with ones body. This is where the scientist hope that by finding the exact genes involved in lean body mass will allow researchers to develop therapies of a sort that’ll enhance this gene into those without. This study is being done on a very large scale since it effects many people with a total of over 50 individual studies being done on this topic with the help of data given by nearly 100,000 participants. Since the loss of muscle mass as age increases is no new issue the scientists were also able to gather data from already discovered information to survey with their findings. The Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife plans to continue working on this project and hopes to find a way for people to stay physically well for as long as possible through their lives.

Green Apples and Green Tomatoes May Help Prevent Age-Related Muscle Loss

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Iowa states that there may be a correlation between eating foods that contain ursolic acid or tomatidine and preventing muscle loss due to aging. Ursolic acid is found in green apples while tomatidine can be found in green tomatoes. The study states that the protein ATF4 is responsible for muscle aging. ATF4 is described as a “transcription factor" that influences the expression of certain genes in skeletal muscle”. The expression of these certain genes results in a decrease in strength, mass, and production of muscle protein. 

The study was conducted over a two month period using elderly mice. Half of the mice were given diets that contained the natural compounds, ursolic acid and tomatidine. While the other half of the mice were not given either of the natural compounds. After two months, researchers found out that the mice who had ursolic acid and tomatidine incorporated into their diets had almost a 10% increase in muscle mass and a 30% increase in muscle strength. These levels seen in the elderly mice  just about matched the levels seen in young adult mice. Researchers concluded that ursolic acid and tomatidine are natural compounds capable of deactivating a group of genes that are normally activated by the protein ATF4. The group of researchers then engineered mice that did not contain the ATF4 protein in their skeletal muscle. The researchers found that muscles in the mice that did not contain ATF4 were resistant to any age-related muscle loss.

The researchers stated that they have come together with a biotech company to further look into the idea of adding ursolic acid and tomatidine to various foods or creating supplements containing either of these natural compounds.

I was really surprised by the results that the researchers came across after adding urosolic acid or tomatidine to the diets of the mice. It is interesting to see that these natural compounds have the ability to resist muscle loss and even increase muscle mass and muscle strength. It will also be interesting to see if these same affects will be seen in humans as well.  

Original Article

Muscle Aging is NOT Improved by Exercise

Medical News Today reports that the professor of Systems Biology in the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences at Loughborough University recently issued a press statement that overturned a concept that was long held true by the scientific and medical community.

Professor Timmons and her colleagues have observed that physical exercise has very little to no control over how well the muscles age in the human body.  It has been found that genetic pathways have been identified as the largest deciding factor as to how well your muscles actually age.  These processes are completely distinct from the processes that are regulated by physical activity.  In other words, no matter how much you exercise, genetics wins again...  Physical activity has NOT been observed to alter age-related biological changes.

A test trial on endurance took place over a 20 week time period with a group of volunteers.  It was discovered that through a specific pathway known as mTOR, only those select few who can genetically suppress this pathway are able to gain more lean muscle tissue mass with exercise.  For the majority of the people who could not genetically suppress the mTOR pathway, no amount of exercise could stop or slow their muscle aging.