Exploring Sarcopenia in Parkinson's Disease Patients by Combining Serum Biomarker Levels

Parkinson\'s Disease (PD) and sarcopenia are prevalent age-related syndromes, often occurring simultaneously within individuals. Sarcopenia is notably common among PD patients, with severe cases affecting approximately one in every five individuals with PD. Moreover, sarcopenia is closely linked to the accelerated progression of PD, diminished quality of life, heightened mortality risk, and increased susceptibility to falls and fractures. Therefore, early detection of sarcopenia assumes particular significance as it offers an opportunity for interventions aimed at mitigating or delaying muscle degeneration, potentially influencing PD outcomes. This review will delve into the relationship between sarcopenia and PD, methods for screening and testing sarcopenia, and potential avenues for further research and the development of strategies for risk reduction and treatment

The onset of sarcopenia in PD may be intricately linked to both motor and non-motor symptoms. In terms of motor symptoms, sarcopenia exacerbates muscle weakness, impairs balance and gait, and may worsen symptoms like rigidity and bradykinesia in PD. Numerous studies have shown that sarcopenia is strongly associated with disease duration, Hoehn-Yahr staging, and Unified PD Rating Scale-III(UPDRSIII) scores. Regarding non-motor symptoms, sarcopenia contributes to increased fatigue due to muscle weakness, disrupts sleep patterns, exacerbates psychological distress including depression and anxiety, and may impact cognitive function. In addition, some studies supported that the incidence of falls, disability and death in PD with Sarcopenia were higher than those in PD without sarcopenia. Nevertheless, other studies have reported controversial results. Some researchers believed that sarcopenia had no correlations with disease duration, HY, UPDRS-I/III, cognition and depression. However, most of the current studies are small cross-sectional studies that are not very convincing about the relationship between diseases. Thus, further studies with long-term follow up and large sample sizes are required to determine the causal direction of these relationships.