Cardiolipin Shortage May Explain Age-Related Muscle Weakness

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen found that declining cardiolipin levels in muscle mitochondria drive the shift from fast-twitch to slow-twitch fibers and muscle wasting. Restoring the fat to about two-thirds of normal levels reversed muscle loss and prevented early death in mice.

• Cardiolipin in muscle mitochondria declines with age and disease
• Lowering cardiolipin in young mice triggered a fast-to-slow fiber shift
• Restoring cardiolipin to ~2/3 of normal reversed muscle wasting in mice
• Elamipretide, which stabilizes cardiolipin, won FDA approval for Barth syndrome