Department of Geriatrics, Hospital San Juan de Dios, Pamplona, Spain.
Maturitas. 2012 Feb;71(2):109-14. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.11.012. Epub 2011 Dec 6.
Sarcopenia, defined as a syndrome rather than as a pathology, is the loss of muscle mass and function associated with age. Sarcopenia is an enigma for medicine, and despite the numerous publications available in the literature and the number of papers currently being published, there is no agreement about its definition, and even less about its root causes. One salient aspect that proves the lack of consensus is the fact that different working groups are still debating about the right name for this syndrome (which is associated with the loss of muscle mass and strength in the elderly). In hospitalized patients, sarcopenia has been shown to raise the risk of complications such as infections, pressure ulcers, loss of autonomy, institutionalization and poor quality of life, as well as to increase mortality. The factors that contribute to the development of sarcopenia in the elderly are: the state of chronic inflammation, atrophy of motoneurons, reduced protein intake (secondary among others to the condition defined as geriatric anorexia), and immobility. There is ongoing debate about the causes of sarcopenia, but the aspect that generates most interest today is the quest to achieve repeatable and clinically useful diagnostic criteria for its diagnosis, prevention and treatment. The aim of this narrative review is to summarise the abundant information available in the literature and to draw useful conclusions.
肌少症，定义为一种综合征而非一种疾病，是与年龄相关的肌肉质量和功能的丧失。肌少症是医学上的一个谜，尽管文献中有大量的出版物，而且目前正在发表的论文数量也很多，但对于它的定义仍然没有共识，更不用说其根本原因了。一个明显的方面证明了缺乏共识，那就是不同的工作组仍在争论这个综合征的正确名称（它与老年人的肌肉质量和力量丧失有关）。在住院患者中，肌少症已被证明会增加并发症的风险，如感染、压疮、失去自主性、住院和生活质量下降，以及增加死亡率。导致老年人肌少症发展的因素有：慢性炎症状态、运动神经元萎缩、蛋白质摄入减少（除其他以外，还有一种情况被定义为老年厌食症）以及缺乏活动。关于肌少症的病因仍存在争议，但今天最引人关注的方面是寻求可重复和临床有用的诊断标准，以诊断、预防和治疗肌少症。本综述的目的是总结文献中丰富的信息，并得出有用的结论。
