Effects Of Mk-677 On Age Related Frailty

[musclebeauty]

Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System report that a  daily single oral dose of an investigational drug, MK-677, increased  muscle mass in the arms and legs of healthy older adults without serious  side effects, suggesting that it may prove safe and effective in  reducing age-related frailty.

Published in the November 4, 2008 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine,  the study showed that levels of growth hormone (GH) and of insulin-like  growth factor I (IGF- I) in seniors who took MK-677 increased to those  found in healthy young adults. The drug restored 20 percent of muscle  mass loss associated with normal aging.

"Our study opens the door  to the possibility of developing treatments that avert the frailty of  aging," explains Dr. Michael O. Thorner, a nationally recognized  researcher of growth hormone regulation and a professor of internal  medicine and neurosurgery at UVA. "The search for anti-frailty  medications has become increasingly important because the average  American is expected to live into his or her 80s, and most seniors want  to stay strong enough to remain independent as they age." 

Funded  by the National Institutes of Health, the two-year, double-blind,  placebo-controlled, modified-crossover study involved 65 men and women  ranging in age from 60 to 81. 

The study drug, MK-677, mimics the  action of ghrelin, a peptide that stimulates the growth hormone  secretagogue receptor (GHSR). Drug developers are focusing on GHSR  because it plays an important role in the regulation of growth hormone  and appetite. They think it may prove to be an excellent treatment  target for metabolic disorders such as those related to body weight and  body composition. 

According to Dr. Thorner, the UVA research was  a "proof-of-concept" study that sets the stage for a larger and longer  clinical trial to determine whether MK-677 is effective in people who  are frail and to assess its long term safety.