Are Skeletal Muscle Changes during Prolonged Space Flights Similar to Those Experienced by Frail and Sarcopenic Older Adults?

Bibliographic Details
Title: Are Skeletal Muscle Changes during Prolonged Space Flights Similar to Those Experienced by Frail and Sarcopenic Older Adults?
Authors: Alessandro Cannavo, Angelica Carandina, Graziamaria Corbi, Eleonora Tobaldini, Nicola Montano, Beatrice Arosio
Source: Life, Vol 12, Iss 12, p 2139 (2022)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2022.
Publication Year: 2022
Collection: LCC:Science
Subject Terms: sarcopenia, frailty, aging, space flight, microgravity, Science
More Details: Microgravity exposure causes several physiological and psychosocial alterations that challenge astronauts’ health during space flight. Notably, many of these changes are mostly related to physical inactivity influencing different functional systems and organ biology, in particular the musculoskeletal system, dramatically resulting in aging-like phenotypes, such as those occurring in older persons on Earth. In this sense, sarcopenia, a syndrome characterized by the loss in muscle mass and strength due to skeletal muscle unloading, is undoubtedly one of the most critical aging-like adverse effects of microgravity and a prevalent problem in the geriatric population, still awaiting effective countermeasures. Therefore, there is an urgent demand to identify clinically relevant biological markers and to underline molecular mechanisms behind these effects that are still poorly understood. From this perspective, a lesson from Geroscience may help tailor interventions to counteract the adverse effects of microgravity. For instance, decades of studies in the field have demonstrated that in the older people, the clinical picture of sarcopenia remarkably overlaps (from a clinical and biological point of view) with that of frailty, primarily when referred to the physical function domain. Based on this premise, here we provide a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms of sarcopenia and frailty, which in aging are often considered together, and how these converge with those observed in astronauts after space flight.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2075-1729
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/12/2139; https://doaj.org/toc/2075-1729
DOI: 10.3390/life12122139
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/bab2595bbbdf44c5b72e75b880ecfe40
Accession Number: edsdoj.bab2595bbbdf44c5b72e75b880ecfe40
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:20751729
DOI:10.3390/life12122139
Published in:Life
Language:English