Pathogenesis, Diagnosis Method, and Current Nutritional Support Strategy for Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia is a specific disease that commonly occurs in the elderly and patients with consumptive diseases. Sarcopenia can cause a severe decline in strength and movement, and even lead to prolonged bed rest. Nutritional support is an emerging approach to mitigate sarcopenia and is currently the gold standard for clinical management of sarcopenia. However, complex nutritional composition may affect the effect of treatment. Herein, the pathogenesis of sarcopenia is first introduced. Then, the diagnostic methods of sarcopenia are described in detail, including grip strength, chair stand test, dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, gait speed, balance tests, and biomarkers. Then, the latest progress of the nutritional support (including protein quantity and quality, bioactive peptides, amino acids and their metabolites, antioxidant/ anti-inflammatory nutrients, vitamins and minerals, microbiome-targeted interventions, metabolite-derived molecules, and Chinese herbal medicine) on the mitigation of sarcopenia is elaborated. This review may contribute to the understanding of the mechanism and importance of diagnosis and nutritional support in alleviating sarcopenia, so as to promote the development of sarcopenia treatment.