Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia is a degenerative skeletal muscle disorder characterised by the progressive and generalised loss of muscle mass, strength, and physical performance that accompanies biological ageing. It is now recognised as a disease entity with its own ICD-10 diagnostic code (M62.84). Sarcopenia typically begins around age 30 with a loss of approximately 3-8% of muscle mass per decade, accelerating significantly after age 60. The underlying mechanisms are multifactorial and include declining anabolic hormone levels (growth hormone, IGF-1, testosterone), increased myostatin signalling, mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammaging), satellite cell depletion, and neuromuscular junction deterioration. Research into peptides that may counteract sarcopenic processes includes growth hormone secretagogues like CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin, which stimulate GH and IGF-1 pathways critical for muscle protein synthesis, and BPC-157, which has demonstrated effects on muscle tissue healing and growth factor modulation in preclinical models. Myostatin inhibition is another active area of sarcopenia peptide research.