Dear Colleagues,

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a condition common to disuse, immobilization, injury, trauma, disease and aging. Atrophy can be an extremely fast process that can be detected after just 3 days of muscle unloading in healthy humans. Many clinical conditions involving inflammation and oxidative stress exacerbate muscle wasting and, when associated with the loss of muscle mass occurring with ageing (sarcopenia), lead to frailty and loss of independence. Yet, the molecular mechanisms responsible for muscle atrophy in many neuromuscular disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal muscle atrophy (SMA), multiple sclerosis (MS), muscular dystrophy (MD), myasthenia gravis (MG), myopathies, neuropathies, etc., as well as in aging and inactivity, are to be fully understood. The paucity of knowledge also exists on the efficacy of the physical, nutritional and pharmacological intervention on the recovery of muscle loss in most neuromuscular disorders and aging. Even in healthy young adults, chronic inactivity seems to trigger neuropathic processes causing instability of the neuromuscular junction, axonal damage and denervation/reinnervation of muscle fibres.

This Special Issue will review the current knowledge on the mechanisms of muscle atrophy with disuse, inactivity, aging and with some of the most relevant neuromuscular disorders and discuss the effect of conventional but also innovative therapeutic interventions in the prevention/recovery of muscle mass and strength loss associated with these conditions.

Prof. Dr. Marco Vincenzo Narici
Guest Editor

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• muscle atrophy
• inactivity
• ageing
• sarcopenia
• neuromuscular disorders