Muscle atrophy

As technology in the space sciences advances, the distances humans can travel through space also increases. Long-term space missions can cause complications to astronauts’ health (see Figure 1), the severity of which are not yet well understood. This paper focuses on three main health complications experienced by crew members during long-term space travel: muscle atrophy; loss of bone mass; and immune system changes. This paper also explores current research into preventative measures and potential treatments for these health complications. Muscle Atrophy On Earth, muscles must constantly work to support the body against the forces of gravity. However, in the zero-gravity environment of space this constant force is absent, and muscles need to work significantly less hard to perform basic functions. Without regular use and exertion, muscles weaken and deteriorate (atrophy) resulting in decreased strength and coordination and increased risk of bone fracture [10]. A NASA study on the effects of prolonged space flight on human skeletal muscles found that even with consistent, rigorous…

Alveolar Ridge Resorption: Alveolar bone resorption is a normal physiologic response following teeth extraction. The causes of alveolar bone volume loss can occur before dental extraction due to periodontal disease, periapical pathology and trauma to the teeth and bone. (SchroppL et al.2003) (1, 2). Additionally, the traumatic removal of teeth can cause bone loss and must be prevented (1,3). Finally, the alveolar bone suffers atrophy after tooth extraction, which has been well documented (1, 4,…

Waking up one day, remembering that every inch of one’s body can not move, but the mind knows what is going on; asking why is this happening. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig disease, has many people waking up to this feeling. ALS is a disease, where your brain is functioning normal, but other parts of the body are unfunctional. Now the brain is not functioning how it normally should, but the body is functioning how it should be. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy…

Spinal Muscular Atrophy, or SMA, was discovered in the 80’s by two doctors. Early in the 1980’s Doctors Werdnig and Hoffman talked of a disorder of progressive muscular weakness starting in babies, leading to early death. The disease was characterized as a loss of anterior horn cell. The lower motor neuron degeneration has been confirmed to be caused by a loss of anterior horn cells in the cranial nerve nuclei and spinal cord. The entire body is affected from Spinal Muscular Atrophy. SMA…

Sarcopenia and Protein Intake: Is the RDA Adequate? Introduction Sarcopenia is an age related condition which is characterized by a loss of skeletal muscle and function.1 The decline in skeletal muscle begins in the fourth decade of life and by age 80 a 30% reduction in muscle mass can be seen, with even greater losses in functional strength.1 Significant decrements in muscle mass and strength increase the risk of morbidity and mortality in the aged.1 The prevalence of sarcopenia in 60 year…

multifactorial contributions of age, nutrition, hormones, medical comorbidities, and activity level to changes in muscle over time. There is a spectrum of changes in aging muscle, some of which are normal and some of which are not. Sarcopenia has been more quantitatively defined as relative muscle mass less than 2 standard deviations below a sex-matched control group aged 18 to 40 years, but the lack of a clear definition has resulted in a wide range of prevalence from 8% to 40%. The 2010…

Sarcopenia is a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse outcomes such as physical disability, poor quality of life and death (Tanimoto et al., 2013). Muscle accounts for 60% of the body’s protein stores. Muscle mass decrease is directly responsible for functional impairment with loss of strength, increased likelihood of falls, and loss of autonomy, respiratory function is also impaired with a reduced vital capacity…

Spinal muscular atrophy is a disorder that takes away the ability to walk, eat, or breathe. The major causes of this disorder are caused by a mutation in the survival motor cell neuron gene. The symptoms of this disorder are having breathing difficulties, leading to a lack of oxygen. Also if you have a poor muscle tone like a floppy infant. You cannot cure or treat this disorder. Nothing else contributes to this disease, and they have not found anything for it. Basically if you have Spinal…

It is a group of inherited disorders that cause progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the second leading cause of neuromuscular disease. It is usually inherited as an autosomal recessive trait (a person must get the defective gene from both parents to be affected). Three types of SMA affect children before age one year. Type 0 is the most severe form of spinal muscular atrophy and begins before birth. Usually, the first symptom of type 0 is less movement…

Over the course of aging, the main physical change involves sarcopenia; it is the decrease in muscle size and fiber number, which affects an individual’s aerobic capacity and strength as a result of the change in muscle composition. With decreased aerobic capacity and strength in muscles, this causes detrimental effects on performing any activities or tasks that consist of running, walking, moving or carrying objects, and activities required for daily living. Muscles consist of two different…