Upcoming pharmacological and interventional therapies for the treatment of physical frailty and sarcopenia

Abstract

Sarcopenia in cirrhosis is a multifaceted process. As our understanding of the complex biology of skeletal muscle improves, we are getting closer to identifying specific therapies to treat muscle depletion in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic populations. Anabolic hormones including testosterone and growth factor are often reduced in cirrhosis; pharmacological therapies that replenish these deficiencies may assist in preventing or reversing muscle depletion. In cirrhosis, hyperammonemia and portal hypertension both play important roles in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia. Specific treatments and interventions targeting these physiological abnormalities may also have added anabolic effects on muscle...