Lossing Muscle Mass With Age?

Age-Related Protein Decline Is Reversible

When most people think of the signs of aging, more often than not they think of wrinkling skin and maybe decreased bone density. But there are numerous other physiological changes that happen in our bodies as we age, one of the biggest being a decrease in muscle mass.

This symptom typically comes as a side-effect of the alteration of nine proteins naturally found within the blood. Luckily, a recent study has found that testosterone treatment can slow and even reverse these protein alterations, allowing for better retention of muscle mass well into one’s golden years.

Boston University Protein Study

The combined study out of Boston University School of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical Branch compared protein levels in multiple samples from two groups of healthy men – one group between the ages of 18-35, and the other between the ages of 60-75 – to see how they differed between the young and the old.  The results indicated that seven of the nine proteins were all at much lower levels in the older men. These proteins were linked to maintenance of muscle, as well as regulation of the immune system.

The same study also found that, with testosterone treatment, lean muscle mass levels increased in both groups, while also increasing two key proteins (PIIINP and IGF-1) in the young men, with similar results in a small group of the older men.

Talk With Your Doctor

The researchers noted that while testosterone therapy showed very promising results in treating these decreases in protein levels, they stress that it is not a one size fits all solution, and that you should consult a professional before undergoing any treatments.