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Normal Aging Muscle Tissue

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Abstract

The effects of aging on muscle tissue—in terms of total and regional muscle mass, muscle fiber size and number—and its clinical consequences with respect to muscle power, strength, and endurance have been investigated extensively during the past few decades. The aging process of striated muscle tissue is based on a complex (patho)physiological mechanism that includes numberous interacting factors, such as hormones, sex, nutrition, and physical activity. The histopathological, imaging, and functional (clinical) features of “normal aging muscle” have come under the umbrella of a coined term, “sarcopenia.” Although sarcopenia is a normal aging phenomenon, it has a substantial clinical and financial impact on health systems because the human life-span is increasing, particularly in the developed Western countries. Sarcopenia is strongly related to accidental falls and injuries as well as to a higher incidence of other systemic diseases including osteoporosis, obesity, and insulin resistance. Therefore, sarcopenia is substantially influencing the quality of life of the elderly as well as their life-span.

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Correspondence to Mike P. Wattjes .

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Wattjes, M.P., Fischer, D. (2013). Normal Aging Muscle Tissue. In: Wattjes, M., Fischer, D. (eds) Neuromuscular Imaging. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6552-2_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6552-2_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6551-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6552-2

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