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Sarcopenia: a clinical review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2013

AJ Cruz-Jentoft
AJ Cruz-Jentoft*
Affiliation:
Servicio de Geriatría, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Alfonso Cruz-Jentoft, Servicio de Geriatría, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ctra. Colmenar km 9.1, 28034 Madrid, Spain. Email: alfonsojose.cruz@salud.madrid.org
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Summary

Although sarcopenia has been used to define muscle mass loss in older subjects, muscle mass is not directly linked to muscle function. Recent definitions consider sarcopenia as a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse outcomes, such as physical disability, poor quality of life, and death. It is closely linked with physical frailty, and also with other muscle wasting disorders, including cachexia and malnutrition. This review focuses on the incorporation of sarcopenia into clinical practice, reviews case finding and diagnosis of sarcopenia, proposes a syndromic approach for the diagnostic work-up of sarcopenic patients, and looks at intervention trials with physical exercise and nutrition, as drugs to treat this condition are not expected to be available in the near future.

Keywords

sarcopeniafrail elderlymuscleskeletal
Type
Review Article
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , November 2013 , pp. 267 - 274
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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