Californian researchers have discovered biochemical pathways associated with the aging of muscles in humans and manipulating these could improve retirement living.
At the University of California, researchers found that it might be possible for older human muscle to regenerate.
"Our study shows that the ability of old human muscle to be maintained and repaired by muscle stem cells can be restored to youthful vigor given the right mix of biochemical signals," said Irina Conboy, a professor at the university.
"This provides promising new targets for forestalling the debilitating muscle atrophy that accompanies aging, and perhaps other tissue degenerative disorders as well."
Researchers at the university worked with Dr. Michael Kjaer and his team at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and compared muscle tissue from about 30 men who were divided into two different age groups. The young participants were between the ages of 21 and 24, and the older gentlemen were between the ages of 68 and 74.
Each man had a leg put in a cast to simulate atrophy. When the cast was removed, the men exercised their legs and samples of muscle tissue were taken and sent to California for analysis.
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