The Study: Skeletal Muscle Regulates Metabolism via Interorgan Crosstalk: Roles in Health and Disease                   

The Facts:

a. It is well known that skeletal muscle serves a vital role in energy and protein metabolism.

b. It takes up glucose and stores glycogen.

c. Muscle tissue serves as a “reservoir of amino acids stored as protein.”

d. If amino acids are needed they are released when the body needs them in its fight against both acute and chronic disease conditions.

e. “Muscle loss is associated with delayed recovery from illness, slowed wound healing, reduced resting metabolic rate, physical disability, poorer quality of life, and higher health care costs.”

f. We can fight these problems with a combination of diet and exercise.

g. Loss of muscle increases hospitalization rates as well as the length of hospitalization stays.

h. The authors indicate that problems caused by loss of lean body mass include: increased  infection risk (10% or greater), decreased wound healing (20% loss), at 30% loss there is greater risk of pneumonia and at 40 percent the risk of death from pneumonia increases.

j. The authors conclude: “Nutrition and exercise are key to growth and maintenance of muscle promoting overall health, well-being, and recovery from disease.”

 Take Home:

Loss of lean muscle mass has deleterious effects on patients. To maintain lean muscle mass both nutrition and exercise are important. 

Reviewer's Comments:

As usual let’s see if I can’t get myself in trouble. While we all want to be nice to old granny and treat her with kindness and respect, let’s be careful we don’t kill her with kindness. Instead let’s encourage her to maintain her health as much as possible with diet and exercise. Will 100 be the new 60? We can hope.

Reviewer:  Roger Coleman DC

Editor: Mark R. Payne DC 

Reference: Joseph M Argiles, Nefertiti Campos, Jose M Lopex-Pedrosa et.al. Skeletal Muscle Regulates Metabolism via Interorgan Crosstalk: Roles in Health and Disease. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2016 Sep 1;17(9):789-96. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2016.04.019.Epub 2016 Jun 17. 

Link to Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27324808/  

Link to Article: https://www.jamda.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1525-8610%2816%2930113-X