Aging: Researchers Discover What Weakens Muscles with Age

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen found that cardiolipin, a lipid essential to mitochondrial function, declines with age in mice and in human muscle samples. Reducing the Crls1 gene in young mice produced muscle changes associated with aging, including shifts in muscle fiber types. Restoring the gene in adult mice raised cardiolipin levels, began to reverse muscle atrophy, and ended the premature deaths seen in the experimental model. The researchers cautioned that the findings do not mean a treatment for muscle loss is now available.