Montreal researchers probe muscle-loss disease in elderly

A team of Montreal researchers has devised a new set of criteria to better diagnose a disease that affects the elderly, sarcopenia, which causes loss of muscle mass.

The improved criteria raise hopes that physicians will be able to detect the disease in people earlier, and therefore, to recommend certain types of exercise and nutrition to stem the loss of muscle mass, say scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.

“The loss of muscle mass cannot be avoided from a certain age. Even the greatest athletes are victims of this condition related to aging,” explained Dr. Stéphanie Chevalier, a nutritionist with the metabolic disorders and complications program at the RI-MUHC.