HIF-1α Stabilization As a Novel Therapeutical Approach for Sarcopenia.

Age-related sarcopenia is associated with reduced mobility, functional decline and disability, falls, and mortality in the elderly. Loss of skeletal muscle is the focus of the disease and is the result of progressive atrophy and loss of glycolytic-type muscle fibers. Muscle mass declines at a rate of 3-5% per decade after thirty years, and the decrease accelerates further after sixty years (Patel et al., 2013). As life expectancy increases worldwide, it is clear that sarcopenia is considered a major contributor to healthcare costs and that even a small reduction in the prevalence of sarcopenia could result in substantial savings in healthcare resources (Goates et al., 2019). In this context, the present proposal aims to develop a new therapeutic approach based on the activation of HIF-1alpha, which has been shown to promote skeletal muscle hypertrophy, to prevent and counteract sarcopenia, thereby reducing disability in the elderly and the impact on the national health care system.