Interventions for sarcopenia and muscle weakness in older people

Resistance training remains the most effective intervention for increasing muscle mass and strength in older people and some alternate strategies for stimulating the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor pathway continue to hold promise.

Abstract

testosterone replacement in elderly hypogonadal men produces only modest increases in muscle mass and strength, which are observed in some studies and not in others. Higher doses have not been given for fear of accelerating prostate cancer. Growth hormone replacement in elderly subjects produces a high incidence of side-effects, does not increase strength and does not augment strength gains resulting from resistance training. Some alternate strategies for stimulating the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway continue to hold promise. The latter include growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) and the complex of IGF-I with its major circulating binding protein (IGF-I/IGFBP-3). Resistance training remains the most effective intervention for increasing muscle mass and strength in older people. Elderly people have reduced food intake and increased protein requirements. As a result, adequate nutrition is sometimes a barrier to obtaining full benefits from resistance training in this population.