Uncovering the mechanisms through which krill oil increases muscle function in older adults

揭示磷虾油增强老年人肌肉功能的机制

• 批准号: BB/X015998/1
• 负责人: Stuart Gray
• 金额: $ 62.29万
• 依托单位: University of Glasgow
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FX015998%2F1
• 关键词: Uncovering; mechanisms; through; krill; oil

As we age, unfortunately, we lose muscle strength and this frequently results in older people not being able to carry out everyday tasks, such as getting up from a chair or stepping on to a bus. This results in a reduced quality of life and an increased risk of having a fall that can result in hospitalisation. Low muscle strength is also a risk factor for many conditions such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease and makes recovery from any illness slower. These negative consequences translate to large economic costs with the most recent study in 2016 showing that the excess health and social care cost of muscle weakness in the UK was £2.5 billion/year. Currently we do not have any medicines that are effective in reversing muscle weakness and although resistance (weightlifting) exercise works, very few people do this, and any gains are readily lost after stopping training. Excitingly, in a study of around 100 people, we have recently shown that krill (small crustaceans) oil supplementation for 6 months results in a 10% increase in muscle strength, equivalent to the loss of muscle strength seen from 55 to 65 years of age. Whilst this is exciting, we need to understand the mechanisms underlying these effects to optimise treatment. Our data indicates that the increases in strength may be due to more effective transmission of the signal from the brain to the muscle, via the nerves, but exactly where is not clear. Furthermore, we need to investigate whether the increases in muscle strength and mass result in improvements in how older people perform daily activities like walking and getting up from a chair. The aim of the current study, therefore, is to determine the mechanisms via which krill oil supplementation increases muscle strength, and to determine whether it results in improvements in daily activities. In the proposed study we will recruit 80 older adults and supplement them for 6 months with placebo or krill oil and compare the effects of this on muscle size and strength, the brain-nerve-muscle interactions and its effects on daily activities. Together, this series of experiments will provide a comprehensive understanding of the effects of krill oil supplementation on muscle function, performance of daily activities and provide an in-depth characterisation of the mechanisms underlying these effects. Such information is crucial to optimise strategies to prevent and/or treat the age-related decline in muscle function.

不幸的是，随着年龄的增长，我们会失去肌肉力量，这经常导致老年人无法执行每天的任务，例如从椅子上起床或踏上公共汽车。这导致生活质量降低，并增加了可能导致住院的风险。低肌肉力量也是许多疾病（例如糖尿病，癌症和心血管疾病）的危险因素，并使任何疾病恢复得慢。这些负面后果转化为巨大的经济成本，2016年的最新研究表明，英国肌肉无力的过度健康和社会护理成本为25亿英镑/年。目前，我们没有任何有效逆转肌肉弱点的药物，尽管耐药性（举重）运动有效，但很少有人这样做，并且在停止训练后很容易损失任何收益。令人兴奋的是，在一项大约100人的研究中，我们最近表明，磷虾（小crusaceans）补充了6个月的油，肌肉力量增加了10％，相当于从55岁到65岁的肌肉力量丧失。尽管这令人兴奋，但我们需要了解这些效果的基础机制以优化治疗。我们的数据表明，强度的增加可能是由于信号从大脑到肌肉，通过神经更有效，但确切的位置尚不清楚。此外，我们需要研究肌肉力量和质量的增加是否会改善老年人的日常活动，例如走路和从椅子上起床。因此，本研究的目的是确定磷虾油补充剂增加肌肉强度的机制，并确定它是否导致日常活动的改善。在拟议的研究中，我们将招募80名老年人，并用安慰剂或磷虾油补充6个月的时间，并将其对肌肉大小和力量的影响，脑部紧缩肌肉相互作用及其对日常活动的影响进行比较。总之，这一系列的实验将对补充磷虾对肌肉功能的影响，日常活动的表现，并提供对这些效果的基础机制的深入表征。此类信息对于优化预防和/或治疗与年龄相关的肌肉功能下降的策略至关重要。