Combination therapy, according to researchers at the University of Basel, may postpone the start of sarcopenia.
People with sarcopenia, particularly the elderly or those who are older, lose significant amounts of muscle. Everyone wants to age physically strong and healthy. But as we become older, our bodies deteriorate, our muscles weaken, and our strength drops.
Dr. Daniel Ham, one of the study’s lead authors, stated in a study that was published in “Nature Communications, said:
“Although this ageing process cannot be stopped, it is feasible to slow it down or counteract it, for example through exercise.”
Researchers under the direction of Professor Markus Rüegg have shown in mice that calorie restriction and the medication rapamycin both benefit aged skeletal muscle.
Dr. Nitish Mittal, one of the authors of the prior study, stated that they didn’t anticipate that rapamycin and calorie restriction would have additive effects because both treatments were intended to decrease the protein complex mTORC1, which, when overactive, accelerates ageing. Contrary to their predictions, rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTORC1, further delayed muscle ageing in mice on calorie-restricted diets, where mTORC1-activating foods are only available for a few hours each day.
The positive benefits of rapamycin were cumulative in calorie-restricted mice. The mice showed noticeably greater muscular function than mice receiving either therapy alone. Because their muscles are still healthy, treated mice are more energetic and physically capable than their untreated counterparts.
The intriguing topic of whether elderly adults with sarcopenia can benefit from a combination therapy consisting of a mTORC1 inhibitor, a calorie restriction-mimicking medication, and possibly exercise is raised by the beneficial effects of calorie-restricted diets and rapamycin on muscle ageing.
This research lessens the load on the health care system while simultaneously improving the quality and satisfaction of life in old age.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
