How to restore muscle strength affected by atrophy?

How to restore muscle strength affected by atrophy?

Muscular dystrophy affects up to 16% of the world's elderly population and is one of the main factors in losing independence and having to rely on the help of others or the use of medical means and equipment. It is associated with loss of muscle mass, function or strength, and is a major cause of many falls, mobility impairment, and functional decline in older adults. Also, there is still no “treatment” or treatments to stop its development, let alone reverse it, and most interventions depend on slowing the loss of muscle mass through changing lifestyle and diet, according to what was published by the New Atlas website, citing the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (PNAS).

Restoration of atrophic muscle cells

What is new is that scientists at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea have succeeded in developing a new bioelectrical treatment that restored muscle cells in elderly mice, and they expressed confidence that it will have a similar effect in human models.

“The number of patients with muscular dystrophy has increased recently due to restrictions on social activities due to the Covid-19 epidemic and the aging of the world population,” said lead researcher Minseok Kim, a professor in the Department of New Biology at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute, stressing that, for the first time, , there is the possibility of applying bioelectrical medicine to treat muscular dystrophy, a disease for which there is currently no cure.

Electrical stimulation

Kim added that he and his research team were also able to identify optimal electrical stimulation conditions for muscle recovery as a function of age, which could lead to a paradigm shift in the development of personalized electrotherapy treatments.

Optimal level of muscle mass

The team has developed a biochip-based electrical stimulation-based screening platform for aging human muscle cells. Using this, they were able to identify the ideal conditions for electrical stimulation, which helps regenerate aging muscle cells. While electrical stimulation can damage muscles, researchers have found an optimal level that can help elicit a positive reaction to calcium signaling, aging, and metabolism, especially since restoring calcium signaling in aging skeletal muscle can lead to hypertrophy, or Increase in muscle mass.

Improve muscle function

The experiments showed a slight increase in muscle contraction force and tissue formation, suggesting that the treatment not only built mass, but improved function. Although preliminary, the team of researchers believes it could change the way electrical stimulation is currently used.

Electrosilver technology

The team of researchers in the study noted that “currently, many electrical muscle stimulation devices have been used in hospitals and homes without considering ideal stimulation conditions,” and suggested that “there should be an application of electrical stimulation specifically for the treatment of muscle atrophy due to aging to achieve maximum "More effective with minimal side effects."

The researchers expressed their desire for this technology to be called “electro-silver technology,” noting that “the results of the [new] study could potentially be a basis for the development of bioelectrical medicine for muscular dystrophy.”

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