TY - JOUR
T1 - Intranasal Oxytocin Improves Lean Muscle Mass and Lowers LDL Cholesterol in Older Adults with Sarcopenic Obesity
T2 - A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Espinoza, Sara E.
AU - Lee, Jessica L.
AU - Wang, Chen Pin
AU - Ganapathy, Vinutha
AU - MacCarthy, Daniel
AU - Pascucci, Chiara
AU - Musi, Nicolas
AU - Volpi, Elena
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging ( National Institutes of Health ) through the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (Grant P30 AG044271) and at University of Texas Medical Branch (Grant P30 AG024832 ). It was also supported by the National Institutes of Health through Clinical Translational Science Awards to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (Grant UL1 TR002645 ), the University of Texas Medical Branch (Grant UL1 TR001439 ), and the U niversity of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Grant UL1 TR00037 ). Administrative and infrastructure support was provided by the Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System .
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging (National Institutes of Health) through the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (Grant P30 AG044271) and at University of Texas Medical Branch (Grant P30 AG024832). It was also supported by the National Institutes of Health through Clinical Translational Science Awards to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (Grant UL1 TR002645), the University of Texas Medical Branch (Grant UL1 TR001439), and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Grant UL1 TR00037). Administrative and infrastructure support was provided by the Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Objectives: Obesity is associated with sarcopenia in older adults, and weight loss can lead to further muscle mass loss. Oxytocin decreases with age, and animal studies suggest that oxytocin administration has trophic effects on skeletal muscle cells and reduces adiposity. We conducted a clinical trial to examine the safety and preliminary efficacy of intranasal oxytocin for older adults with sarcopenic obesity. Design: A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized controlled trial of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU 4 times per day) for 8 weeks. Setting and Participants: Twenty-one older (67.5 ± 5.4 years), obese (30–43 kg/m2), sedentary (<2 strenuous exercise per week) adults with slow gait speed (<1 m/s, proxy measure of sarcopenia) were recruited. Measures: Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate the effect of oxytocin on safety/tolerability of oxytocin administration and whole body muscle and fat mass. Results: At baseline, body mass index (BMI) was 36.8 ± 3.6 kg/m2, fat mass 46.09 ± 6.99 kg, lean mass 50.98 ± 11.77 kg, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 92.0 ± 8.9 mg/dL, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) 5.7% ± 0.4%, low density lipoprotein (LDL) 111.3 ± 41.5 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) 47.85 ± 10.96 mg/dL, and triglycerides 140.55 ± 83.50 mg/dL. Oxytocin administration was well tolerated without any significant adverse events. Oxytocin led to a significant increase of 2.25 kg in whole body lean mass compared with placebo (P < .01) with a trend toward decreasing fat mass, and a significantly reduced plasma LDL cholesterol by −19.3 mg/dL (P = .023) compared against placebo. There were no significant changes in BMI, appetite scores, glycemia, plasma HDL, triglycerides, or depressive symptoms. Conclusions and Implications: This proof-of-concept study indicates that oxytocin may be useful for the treatment of sarcopenic obesity in older adults. Oxytocin administration may also provide additional cardiovascular benefits.
AB - Objectives: Obesity is associated with sarcopenia in older adults, and weight loss can lead to further muscle mass loss. Oxytocin decreases with age, and animal studies suggest that oxytocin administration has trophic effects on skeletal muscle cells and reduces adiposity. We conducted a clinical trial to examine the safety and preliminary efficacy of intranasal oxytocin for older adults with sarcopenic obesity. Design: A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized controlled trial of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU 4 times per day) for 8 weeks. Setting and Participants: Twenty-one older (67.5 ± 5.4 years), obese (30–43 kg/m2), sedentary (<2 strenuous exercise per week) adults with slow gait speed (<1 m/s, proxy measure of sarcopenia) were recruited. Measures: Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate the effect of oxytocin on safety/tolerability of oxytocin administration and whole body muscle and fat mass. Results: At baseline, body mass index (BMI) was 36.8 ± 3.6 kg/m2, fat mass 46.09 ± 6.99 kg, lean mass 50.98 ± 11.77 kg, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 92.0 ± 8.9 mg/dL, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) 5.7% ± 0.4%, low density lipoprotein (LDL) 111.3 ± 41.5 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) 47.85 ± 10.96 mg/dL, and triglycerides 140.55 ± 83.50 mg/dL. Oxytocin administration was well tolerated without any significant adverse events. Oxytocin led to a significant increase of 2.25 kg in whole body lean mass compared with placebo (P < .01) with a trend toward decreasing fat mass, and a significantly reduced plasma LDL cholesterol by −19.3 mg/dL (P = .023) compared against placebo. There were no significant changes in BMI, appetite scores, glycemia, plasma HDL, triglycerides, or depressive symptoms. Conclusions and Implications: This proof-of-concept study indicates that oxytocin may be useful for the treatment of sarcopenic obesity in older adults. Oxytocin administration may also provide additional cardiovascular benefits.
KW - Obesity
KW - body composition
KW - clinical trials
KW - sarcopenia
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.04.015
DO - 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.04.015
M3 - Article
C2 - 34029521
AN - SCOPUS:85107049036
SN - 1525-8610
VL - 22
SP - 1877-1882.e2
JO - Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
JF - Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
IS - 9
ER -