title: Prospect for pharmacological therapies to treat skeletal muscle dysfunction.
abstract: Skeletal muscle weakness is a leading cause of mobility disability in the elderly (sarcopenia), as a complication of acute or chronic illness (cachexia), and due to inherited or acquired muscle diseases (muscular dystrophies, myositides, etc.). As of now, there are no approved drugs that can reliably increase muscle strength and function. However, with our understanding of the regulation of myocyte signaling and homeostasis evolving rapidly, experimental treatments are now entering the clinic. We review the current status of clinical research in pharmacological therapies for muscle disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Translational Medicine, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, 220 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Meriggioli
authors.forename: Ronenn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roubenoff
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*