Evidence for sex-specific intramuscular changes associated to physical weakness in adults older than 75  years

ConclusionsWe conclude that physical weakness-associated changes in muscle are sex-specific and recommend that sex differences are taken into account in research on frailty, as these differences may have a large impact on the development of (pharmaceutical) interventions against frailty.Trial registration number: The FITAAL study was registered in the Dutch Trial Register, with registration code NTR6124 on 14-11-2016 (https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=NTR6124 ).Highlights• In female, but not male older adults, physical weakness was associated with a higher expression of intramuscular markers for inflammation.• In male, but not female older adults, physical weakness was associated with a smaller diameter of type 2 (fast) myofibers and lowerPRKN expression.• Fit older adults (of both sexes) maintained expression levels comparable to young participants of weakness related genes, differing from frail participants.
Source: Biology of Sex Differences - Category: Biology Source Type: research