Sarcopenia: A Clinical Review in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Sarcopenia is a progressive decrease of muscle function, bulk, and strength that occurs gradually as we age and become frail.This results in a decline in physical stamina that affects normal individuals and those with disabilities.Sarcopenia interferes with functionality, productivity, activities of daily living, and poses risks related to deconditioning and predisposition to physical and psychological consequences.The affected individuals become at increased risk for falls, lack of independence, increased fatty tissue, social isolation, and eventual possible depression.Sarcopenia was considered a natural course of the aging process and was not considered a disease.But, recently, with revised consensus on definition, it is now considered a muscle disease that can be acute or chronic.Emphasis here is made at the difference between aging that is a natural process and frailty that is partially reversible.This clinical review will encompass the latest updates on this syndrome in spinal cord injury ("SCI") patients as it increases the burden of morbidity and mortality.We recognize that the pathophysiology of sarcopenia is complex and intertwined.This manuscript will briefly review the possible implicated etiologies of sarcopenia without going in dept as our goal is emphasis on sarcopenia in spinal cord patients.