Sarcopenia
Conditions
Brief summary
Sarcopenia is an age-related gradual loss of muscle mass and strength and is associated with physical disability and mortality risk. Currently, the most promising remedy for preventing and treating sarcopenia is physical activity, particularly progressive resistance training. Yet, the amount of resistance exercise needed to achieve optimal benefits remains largely unknown. This lack of knowledge is underpinned by the notion that aging reduces the ability to adapt to (and benefit from) resistance training, and is further complicated by a relative large degrees of between-subject heterogeneity. The primary aim of the study is to compare the effects of 10 weeks of resistance training with low- and moderate volume (one vs. three sets per exercise) on muscle mass accretion in lower and upper body extremities in young (\<30 years of age) and elderly individuals (\>70 years of age). Specifically, the study addresses the hypothesis that elderly individuals will benefit more from higher exercise volume (moderate vs. low) compared to their young counterparts. In addition, the study aims to compare the efficacy of the two volume conditions for altering other characteristics such as muscle strength and biology, including assessment of associations between individual changes in muscle mass, strength and biology (e.g. the relationship between muscle mass accretion and muscle content of rRNA/rDNA), and also to investigate the general health effects of the intervention.
Interventions
OTHERProgressive resistance training
Progressive resistance training, performed with a target number of repetitions of 10 per set. Sets are performed to exhaustion, and external load will be adjusted to meet the target number of repetitions.
Sponsors
Sykehuset Innlandet HF
Stian Ellefsen
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Study conditions (exercise volume) and age groups identifiers are omitted from outcome assessments whenever possible. Assessment of the primary (and selected secondary) outcome(s) will be performed in a blinded fashion by assessors/investigators.
Intervention model description
Study conditions (exercise volume) are randomized to either leg/arm for within-participant comparisons. The effect of age is assessed from two parallel age groups.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Ages between 18 and 30 or \> 70
Exclusion criteria
* Resistance training, \> 1 session per week * Endurance training, \> 3 sessions per week * Unstable cardiovascular disease * Illness or serious injury contradicting resistance training * Serious mental illness * Allergy to local anaesthesia
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle size, lower extremities | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Muscle size of lower extremity knee extensors measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Appendicular lean mass, lower-body extremities | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Appendicular lean mass of the legs measured using Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry |
| Appendicular lean mass, upper-body extremities | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Appendicular lean mass of the arms measured using Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry |
| Muscle thickness, m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Musle thickness of m. vastus lateralis measured using ultrasound |
| Muscle size, upper-body extremities | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Muscle size of upper extremity elbow flexors measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). |
| Muscle strength, upper-body extremities | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Muscle strength of the arms measured as isometric force (elbow flexors; fixed angle) |
| Muscular peak power/force, lower-body extremities | MeasurChange from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Muscular peak power/force measured using dynamic leg press |
| Muscle strength, lower-body extremities | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Muscle strength of the legs measured as a weighted average of lower body isokinetic and isometric knee extensor maximal force |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle fibre characteristics in m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Muscle fiber characteristics such as muscle fiber proportions, cross-sectional area, myonuclei content and capillarization measured in biopsies from m. vastus lateralis |
| Total-RNA abundance in m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Total-RNA abundance measured in biopsies from m. vastus lateralis. |
| rRNA/RNA abundances in m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | rRNA/RNA abundances measured in biopsies from m. vastus lateralis. |
| rRNA/mRNA abundances in m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to after 6 training sessions | rRNA/RNA abundances measured in biopsies from m. vastus lateralis. |
| Protein abundances in m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Protein abundances measured in biopsies from m. vastus lateralis. |
| Protein abundance in m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to after 6 training sessions | Protein abundances measured in biopsies from m. vastus lateralis. |
| rDNA content in m. vastus lateralis | Measured at baseline | Ribosomal DNA content measured in m. vastus lateralis |
| rDNA content in m. vastus lateralis, (mid) | Change from baseline to after 12 sessions | Ribosomal DNA content measured in m. vastus lateralis |
| rDNA content, whole-blood | Measured at baseline | Ribosomal DNA content measured in whole-blood |
| rDNA content, whole-blood (mid) | Change from baseline to after 12 sessions | Ribosomal DNA content measured in whole-blood |
| Epigenetic traits, muscle | Measured at baseline | Epigenetic traits measured as DNA methylation/histone modifications in m. vastus lateralis |
| SARC-F | Measured at baseline | Sarcopenia score assessed using SARC-F (questionnaire) |
| Hemoglobin mass | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks). | Total hemoglobin mass measured using the carbon monoxide rebreathing method |
| Glucose tolerance | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks). | Blood glucose and endocrine responses to a 2h glucose tolerance test (75 g bolus of glucose). |
| Systemic inflammation | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks). | Systemic inflammation measured as blood markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) in resting blood samples. |
| Lipoproteins and lipids in blood | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Concentrations of various lipoproteins and lipids in blood measured using targeted metabolomics |
| Hemoglobin glycosylation | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Long-term glucose levels measured as hemoglobin glycosylation |
| Hormone concentrations in blood | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Concentrations of hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone, thyroid hormones, cortisol and insulin (c-peptide) in serum |
| Health-related quality of life (SF-36) | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks) | Health-related quality of life measured using the SF-36 questionnaire |
| Dietary registration | Measured at baseline | Dietary composition assessed using a food-frequency questionnaire (nutritional composition, energy intake, habitual patterns of dietary intake) |
| Training diary relating to the intervention protocol | Throughout the intervention (continuous) | Information about intervention-specific training, including training frequency, volume and load |
| Activities of daily living (questionnaire) | Measured at baseline | Activities of daily living measured using a questionnaire (i.e. time spent in activity, intensities and type of activity) |
| Daily activity level | Measured during the intervention | Daily activity level registred over three to five days using an accelerometer. |
| Blood pressure | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks). | Resting blood pressure |
| Muscular peak power/force, lower-body extremities | Change from baseline to after 12 sessions | Muscular peak power/force measured using dynamic leg press |
| Muscle architecture, m. vastus lateralis (mid) | Change from baseline to after 12 sessions | Muscle architecture pennation angle of m. vastus lateralis measured using ultrasound |
| Muscle thickness, m. vastus lateralis (mid) | Change from baseline to after 12 sessions | Musle thickness of m. vastus lateralis measured using ultrasound |
| Muscle strength, lower-body extremities (mid) | Change from baseline to after 12 sessions | Muscle strength will be assessed as a weighted average of lower body isokinetic and isometric knee extensor maximal force |
| Muscle strength, upper-body extremities (mid) | Change from baseline to after 12 sessions | Muscle strength of the arms measured as isometric force (elbow flexors; fixed angle) |
| Muscle architecture, m. vastus lateralis | Change from baseline to the training period (10-12 weeks). | Muscle architecture pennation angle of m. vastus lateralis measured using ultrasound |
| Body composition | Change from baseline to after the training period (10-12 weeks). | Whole Body Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry to estimate lean mass, bone mineral density and fat mass. |
Countries
Norway
Outcome results
None listed