Age-related onset of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance may be due to the lowered ability of muscle mitochondria to switch from metabolizing fatty acids to metabolizing glucose in healthy elderly people compared to young people. Americans >65yo are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes or glucose intolerance. The reasons for this are largely unknown, but studies have shown that muscle insulin resistance, increased intramyocellular lipid content (IMCL, triglycerides located within muscles), and decreased metabolic rates are related to aging.
Singling out mitochondrial function in muscle cells is hard via indirect calorimetry which provide information about the body’s basal metabolic rate, not just metabolism in muscle cells...
Read More
Recent Comments