Muscle wasting disease symptoms are among the most incapacitating and frequently fatal non-communicable illness conditions. Muscle wasting is linked to various neuromuscular illnesses and myopathies, cancer, heart failure, chronic pulmonary and renal diseases, peripheral neuropathies, inflammatory disorders, and musculoskeletal traumas. Current therapy options were unsuccessful and only slowed muscle deterioration. Nutritional supplements, appetite stimulants, and immunosuppressants might exacerbate muscle loss. Because the circulating hormones are effective inhibitors of muscle growth and regulators of muscle progenitor cell differentiation, the most promising therapies seek to disrupt myostatin and activin receptor signaling. Several studies have shown that “inhibiting the inhibitors” can increase muscle cell protein synthesis, decrease degradation, improve mitochondrial biogenesis, and preserve muscular function.
Even though such alterations can prevent muscle wasting in multiple illness animal models, numerous medications targeting this system failed in human trials, some due to substantial treatment-related side effects and off-target interactions. On the other hand, failures were more typically caused by an inability to enhance muscular function while conserving muscle bulk. Antibodies and gene therapies are continuing in development, each with a particular target and consequently variable safety, effectiveness, and intended usage profiles. Each is distinct in design and, if successful, might transform the treatment of acute and chronic muscle wasting. In addition, they might be used with other emerging therapies for comparable muscle disorders or metabolic illnesses.
Reference:academic.oup.com/edrv/article/43/2/329/6370269
