Discovery could help older adults maintain muscle strength

Key Points:

• Researchers at the University of Missouri, led by W. David Arnold, discovered that age-related muscle weakness (sarcopenia) is linked to a breakdown in communication between nerves and muscles, specifically due to reduced levels of the protein NaV1.4.
• This neuromuscular junction failure, previously thought to remain reliable with age, has been shown to decline in both humans and animal models, challenging long-held assumptions in the field.
• The team identified the protein ClC-1 as a potential therapeutic target; partially inhibiting ClC-1 improved muscle responsiveness to nerve signals and increased muscle strength in animal studies.
• A drug candidate, ignaseclant, developed by NMD Pharma to partially inhibit ClC-1, has shown promise in clinical trials for neuromuscular diseases and may offer a future treatment for sarcopenia in older adults.
• The findings, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, provide a new avenue for improving muscle strength and health span in aging populations, moving beyond the assumption that muscle decline is inevitable.