VitalsDaily.com
#Vascular_Biology

The Triad of Time: The Molecular Symphony of Vascular Impairment, Muscle Atrophy, and Cognitive Decline

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Şekip Altunkan on Jul 17, 2026.
Medical illustration from Vitals Daily

Strategic Takeaways

Modern geroscience and medical philosophy have long abandoned the Cartesian view of the human body as a mechanical assembly of independently functioning organs; the most dramatic toll that chronological time exacts on biological tissues is paid through the simultaneous and cascading collapse of interconnected systems. The “Indissociable Triad”—formed by vascular perfusion insufficiency, skeletal muscle depletion, and neurocognitive decline—represents a dynamic pathological continuum that transcends standalone disease definitions. Echoing through the clinical sphere as Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome, this predementia phase conceals the silent signatures of systemic inflammation and cellular erosion behind the clinical presentation of a slowing gait and a clouding mind. In elderly hypertensive patients, aggressively lowering conventional blood pressure targets without meticulously evaluating the patient’s physical frailty and sarcopenic status may violate the boundaries of cerebral autoregulation, paradoxically accelerating cognitive demolition. The sole method to rupture this profound systemic decompensation lies in rationally de-prescribing polypharmacy, overcoming cellular anabolic resistance via targeted essential amino acid architecture, and recalibrating the muscle-brain axis using dual-task neuromuscular stimuli.

Introduction: The Evolution of Geriatric Syndromes and the Single-Organ Illusion

For centuries, medical history examined the human body through a strict reductionist lens, treating it as a machine comprised merely of the sum of its isolated parts. Cardiologists focused on vessels, neurologists on neurons, and orthopedists on musculofascial and bone tissues, while the inherently systemic and holistic nature of aging slipped through the gaps of these disciplinary boundaries. However, the global demographic shift towards an aging population forces modern medicine out of these comfortable, isolated silos, compelling clinicians to comprehensively confront spiraling, intertwined pathologies.

At the vanguard of contemporary geriatrics and geroscience, the scientific discourse has shifted from the failure of a single organ or system toward multi-tissue degradation developing at the very borders where these systems intersect. Among these systemic clinical manifestations, none is more critical than the “Indissociable Triad”: the co-existence of vascular impairment, skeletal muscle atrophy, and neurocognitive decline. This syndromic framework directly reflects the shared functional collapse of the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and central nervous systems during the twilight of biological senescence.

The most prominent, functional mirror of this Indissociable Triad in clinical practice is Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome, a well-defined predementia state. Resting upon two fundamental diagnostic pillars—a slowed gait speed and subjective cognitive decline—this syndrome serves as a powerful early warning phase for the development of all-cause and vascular dementias. Characterized by a high body fat index, overt sarcopenia, and low-grade systemic inflammation, this process is closely bound to other advanced geriatric syndromes, such as osteosarkopenia or osteosarkopenic obesity. Yet, the Indissociable Triad explicitly represents a dynamic pathological continuity where microvascular perfusion insufficiency, developing primarily on a background of chronic hypertension, directly incites myofiber atrophy and neurodegeneration, feeding a vicious cellular loop.

The Voice of Global Cohorts: Epistemic Evidence and Statistical Correlations

International longitudinal studies and regional datasets demonstrate that the statistical and clinical links between hypertension, sarcopenia, and dementia components are profoundly deeper than previously assumed. One of the largest epidemiological databases in this field, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, monitored a total of 7301 middle-aged and elderly participants over a 7-year period, delivering paradigm-shifting insights for geriatric medicine. This cohort study revealed that obesity and sarcopenic obesity are robustly associated with the risk of new-onset hypertension, with hazard ratios reaching 1.67 and 1.61, respectively. Conversely, isolated sarcopenia did not directly trigger the development of new hypertension (hazard ratio 1.17, p-value 0.23).

However, when sarcopenia co-exists with “accelerated biological aging”—a metric reflecting multi-organ system degradation independent of chronological age—it dramatically accelerates the rate of cognitive decline. The simultaneous presence of sarcopenia and biological age acceleration yields the sharpest drop in memory and global cognitive performance (beta coefficient -0.14, 95 percent confidence interval -0.22 to -0.06). Furthermore, the same cohort data confirmed that individuals with sarcopenia carry an exceedingly high risk of developing new-onset chronic kidney disease, a relationship that intensifies specifically within the hypertensive population, demonstrating a hazard ratio of 1.57.

Illuminating the data along the Middle Eastern and Asian borders, the Birjand Longitudinal Aging Study evaluated 1348 elderly participants in a retrospective analysis. Individuals were classified as robust (58.85 percent), probable sarcopenia (31.03 percent), sarcopenia (4.76 percent), and severe sarcopenia (5.36 percent). Following the application of multivariable adjustment models, the presence of dementia independently elevated the risk of sarcopenia, with an odds ratio of 1.03 for each point of worsening on cognitive screening tests. In contrast, preexisting hypertension and engaging in physical activity at least once a week exhibited a protective, negatively correlated relationship against sarcopenia. This paradox emphasizes that maintaining optimal perfusion pressure in advanced age is of paramount importance for preserving skeletal muscle tissue viability.

Across the South American axis, the FIBRA Study investigated the impact of probable sarcopenia on cognitive performance among 529 community-dwelling older adults. After adjusting for confounding variables such as age, sex, depression, hypertension, and diabetes, a diagnosis of probable sarcopenia was directly linked to both a significant decline in Mini-Mental State Examination scores (odds ratio 2.52) and marked impairment in Verbal Fluency tests (odds ratio 2.17).

Regional Dynamics: Turkish Academic Data and Cultural Modifications

Extensive regional studies evaluating the prevalence and management of geriatric syndromes in community-dwelling older adults have clearly illuminated the domestic dynamics of the vascular-muscle-cognitive axis. In comprehensive analyses spearheaded by the Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Geriatrics, polyclinic data revealed that the most prevalent diagnosis among elderly male patients is hypertension, standing at 65 percent. Within this specific population, the prevalence of dementia is 32.8 percent, while the risk of indirect sarcopenia based on low calf circumference hovers around 10.5 percent.

In evaluating muscle strength across domestic cohorts, a vital cultural modification was introduced to the Turkish validity and reliability studies of the widely utilized SARC-F questionnaire. The original question regarding the ability to “lift and carry 10 pounds” was modified to “carrying 5 kg” to better align with the daily lifestyle habits and cultural constructs of the local population. With this precise adaptation, a SARC-F score of 1 or higher demonstrated an exceptionally high sensitivity of 91.4 percent for screening physical frailty, while a score of 4 or higher yielded a high specificity of 92.6 percent for confirming a sarcopenia diagnosis.

Advanced analyses of geriatric outpatients also expose the overlapping psychological dimensions of these physical syndromes. In geriatric cases diagnosed with depressive disorders, depression was found to be directly associated not with handgrip strength, but rather with dynamic sarcopenia components—such as the timed chair stand test and gait speed—mediated entirely through malnutrition. This finding reinforces the clinical necessity of implementing structured inappropriate medication criteria, such as the Turkish Inappropriate Medication use in oldEr adults (TIME) criteria. Maximizing the reduction of polypharmacy directly limits muscle weakness, subsequent falls, and acute cognitive confusion states.

Shared Pathways: From Arterial Stiffness to Genetic Architecture

The clinical manifestations of the Indissociable Triad are orchestrated by a shared chain of molecular and cellular mechanisms extending from the cardiovascular system directly into skeletal muscle fibers and central neural circuits. Arteriosclerosis, developing upon a foundation of chronic hypertension, compromises the elasticity of large conduit arteries, thereby elevating peripheral vascular resistance and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity. This increased hemodynamic pulsatile load inflicts direct microvascular damage upon downstream end-organs, specifically the brain and skeletal muscle beds.

Clinical trials show a stark negative correlation between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, cognitive performance scores, and the skeletal muscle mass index. This elevation in arterial stiffness serves as a direct predictor for dropping Mini-Mental scores. Statistical mediation analyses have confirmed that arterial stiffness directly mediates approximately 13.9 percent and 31.8 percent of the negative relationship between muscle strength loss and cognitive deterioration, respectively. Within the cerebrum, this stress culminates in motor-cognitive coordination deficits driven by cerebral small vessel disease and white matter hyperintensities.

Genome-wide association studies and pleiotropic analyses reveal that sarcopenic muscle wasting and cognitive decay share an intricate genetic architecture. Genetic mapping has identified 79 shared risk loci and 428 pleiotropic genes linked to both phenotypes. Foremost among these is FoxO3, which governs cellular survival, metabolic adaptation, and protein synthesis, alongside SLC39A8, a zinc transporter heavily implicated in neurodegenerative cascades. Furthermore, structural genetic links have been mapped between MYH1 and MYH2 variations encoding muscle fiber architecture and the APOE epsilon-4 allele and CLU loci, which are classic drivers of neurodegeneration and aberrant lipid metabolism.

The biochemical fuel driving this pathological axis is systemic inflammaging. In patients tracking along the Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome spectrum, biomarkers such as growth differentiation factor-15 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha reach peak serum concentrations. A decline in the ratio of the neuroprotective cytokine interleukin-10 to pro-inflammatory cytokines, coupled with reduced progranulin levels, provokes aberrant microglial activation and blood-brain barrier disruption. Simultaneously, this systemic surge activates the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in peripheral muscle tissues, rapidly accelerating muscle proteolysis.

The neuroendocrine limb of this continuum is characterized by a catabolic shift in adrenal steroid production. Multivariable regression models demonstrate that a serum cortisol to DHEA-S ratio of 0.2 or higher stands as the strongest independent risk factor for the development of sarcopenia in aging cohorts. Elevated cortisol levels stimulate relentless protein degradation in skeletal muscle, while the simultaneous drop in the anabolic hormone DHEA-S impairs myofiber regeneration, damages hippocampal plasticity, and drives the demensial cascade forward.

Concurrently, the recently defined “eGFRdiff” metric—representing the intraindividual difference between creatinine-based and cystatin C-based estimated glomerular filtration rates—serves as an integrated metabolic mirror of muscle mass and renal clearance. A deeply negative eGFRdiff value (approximately -15 ml/min/1.73 m² or lower) reflects deficient creatinine production due to advanced muscle wasting. This metabolic mismatch is linearly associated with a heightened risk of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia. Conversely, each standard deviation increase in the eGFRdiff value independently lowers the risk of developing vascular dementia, displaying a protective hazard ratio of 0.90.

Clinical Paradoxes: SHEP, SPRINT, and the Psychology of Fear of Falling

The therapeutic impact of cardiovascular drugs and tight blood pressure regulation on cognitive preservation undergoes a sharp, paradoxical transformation depending on the patient’s physical reserve and frailty status. This clinical divergence is starkly illustrated in landmark clinical trial data. In the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program, which evaluated 4692 isolated systolic hypertension patients over an average of 4.4 years, a comprehensive Frailty Index encompassing 55 health deficit parameters was constructed. The resulting data revealed a highly significant interaction between the baseline frailty level and the neuroprotective efficacy of antihypertensive therapy (interaction p-value 0.049).

In the lowest frailty quartile—representing robust, highly resilient individuals—active antihypertensive treatment successfully thwarted dementia onset, slashing the risk by an impressive 81 percent (odds ratio 0.19). Conversely, in the highest frailty quartiles, this protective cognitive benefit completely evaporated. In these frail cohorts, aggressive blood pressure reduction exhibited a clear trend toward worsening baseline cognitive scores.

Post-hoc analyses of the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) involving elderly cohorts mirror these findings. While an intensive systolic blood pressure target of less than 120 mmHg slowed cognitive decline in robust older adults, it paradoxically heightened the risk of cognitive impairment among individuals carrying a high frailty index. This clinical phenomenon is driven by compromised cerebral autoregulation and microvascular hypoperfusion in frail, severely sarcopenic patients whose cerebral vessels can no longer tolerate steep drops in systemic perfusion pressure.

Within this framework, skeletal muscle loss in dementia patients ceases to be a mere physical limitation; it becomes a primary driver of psychological and behavioral decompensation. Advanced multivariate analyses among dementia cohorts indicate that a moderate-to-severe fear of falling plagues more than half of these patients. Even after controlling for extensive confounding variables—including nutritional scores, cerebrovascular histories, and activities of daily living dependency—the objective presence of sarcopenia independently multiplied the severity of this fear of falling nearly threefold (odds ratio 2.67).

Intriguingly, isolated malnutrition states or specific micronutrient deficiencies (folate, vitamin B12, vitamin D) demonstrated no independent statistical correlation with this psychological fear (p-value greater than 0.05). This critical finding proves that structural muscle integrity and peripheral stabilization power play a primary, non-nutritional role in mitigating neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety and phobic dread, in patients already suffering from cognitive dissolution.

Clinical Management: DASH, MIND, and Neuromuscular Recalibration

The prevention and mitigation of the Indissociable Triad demands a multifaceted therapeutic strategy combining structured lifestyle adjustments, personalized exercise prescriptions, anti-inflammatory dietary architectures, and rational pharmacology. Lifestyle factors, particularly alcohol consumption patterns, serve as major modifiers and mediators within the sarcopenia-dementia axis. Mediation analyses indicate that alcohol consumption habits account for 12.8 percent of the relationship between sarcopenia and all-cause dementia, 15.2 percent for Alzheimer’s disease, and 11.1 percent for vascular dementia. Excessive alcohol intake exerts direct neurotoxic damage and blunts muscle protein synthesis, making strict moderation or cessation a primary clinical target in managing the Triad.

Nutritional interventions must be aggressively optimized to shatter cellular “anabolic resistance” in skeletal muscle while retarding neurodegeneration. Sarcopenic patients exhibiting high adherence to the hypertension-regulating DASH diet and the neuroprotective MIND diet demonstrate superior preservation of cognitive scores. Interestingly, the positive effects of the DASH diet are significantly more pronounced in female sarcopenic patients, whereas the MIND diet displays a stronger correlation with cognitive preservation in male sarcopenic cohorts. To successfully trigger muscle anabolism and override age-related resistance, daily protein intake must be maintained at a minimum of 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg, heavily enriched with essential amino acids, most notably leucine.

When examining the precise daily essential amino acid requirements necessary to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis and halt sarcopenia, specific mass thresholds per kilogram of body weight must be systematically achieved:

  • Leucine: 39 mg/kg daily (sourced from beef, chicken, fish, or plant-based peanuts, soybeans, and lentils).
  • Lysine: 30 mg/kg daily (sourced from red meat, poultry, dairy, or quinoa and black beans).
  • Valine: 26 mg/kg daily (sourced from poultry, dairy, mushrooms, and lentils).
  • Phenylalanine: 25 mg/kg daily (sourced from eggs, cottage cheese, pumpkin seeds, and chickpeas).
  • Isoleucine: 20 mg/kg daily (sourced from eggs, cashews, and oats).
  • Methionine (including cysteine): 15 mg/kg daily (sourced from fish, eggs, sunflower seeds, and spirulina).
  • Threonine: 15 mg/kg daily (sourced from lean meats, cottage cheese, sesame seeds, and quinoa).
  • Histidine: 10 mg/kg daily (sourced from beef, chicken, hemp seeds, and chickpeas).
  • Tryptophan: 4 mg/kg daily (sourced from turkey, milk, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds).

Concurrently, physical exercise stands as the most potent non-pharmacological tool capable of stimulating the muscle-brain axis, augmenting cerebral blood flow, and fostering neurogenesis via the systemic release of muscle-derived myokines, specifically brain-derived neurotrophic factor and irisin. A comprehensive exercise prescription tailored for older adults trapped within the Indissociable Triad must be structurally partitioned:

Progressive Resistance Training: Scheduled 2 to 3 days per week at a moderate-to-high intensity (60 to 80 percent of one-repetition maximum), executing 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions per movement. This directly drives muscle protein synthesis, reverses type II fast-twitch muscle fiber atrophy, and enhances both handgrip strength and bone mineral density.

Endurance and Aerobic Training: Prescribed 3 to 5 days per week at moderate-to-high intensity, totaling 150 to 300 minutes weekly. This intervention is designed to optimize cardiovascular fitness, lower arterial stiffness, and reduce peripheral resistance, thereby shielding cerebral perfusion.

Balance and Proprioceptive Training: Implemented 2 to 3 days per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session at a mild-to-moderate intensity to reinforce neuromuscular coordination and directly lower the fear of falling and postural instability in dementia patients.

Cognitive Dual-Task Training: Deployed 2 to 3 days per week, customized to the patient’s baseline limits for 20 to 30 minutes per session. This presents simultaneous cognitive stimuli during physical movement, actively engaging frontal-subcortical networks and forcing synaptic plasticity.

Whole-Body Vibration: Administered 2 to 3 days per week within a safe frequency window of 12 to 30 Hz for 12 to 15 minutes per session in a standing or semi-squat position. This modality leverages mechanical oscillations to induce reflex muscle contractions, recruiting dormant neuromuscular motor units.

From a pharmacological standpoint, clinicians must exercise extreme caution to avoid prescribing agents that deepen cognitive clouding or muscle weakness. Medications carrying a high anticholinergic burden and benzodiazepines must be strictly limited according to explicit inappropriate medication guidelines to minimize the risk of polypharmacy. In selecting antihypertensive regimens, preference must be given to drug classes that increase microvascular blood flow within muscle beds and alleviate anabolic resistance.

Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers, specifically angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, stand at the forefront of this strategy. Clinical data indicate that utilizing these inhibitors in elderly hypertensive females yields significantly better outcomes regarding handgrip strength and timed chair stand performance compared to angiotensin receptor blockers. The ultimate therapeutic target remains stabilizing systolic blood pressure within a safe window of 130 to 140 mmHg without violating cerebral autoregulation, while maintaining flexible, higher targets for severely frail, sarcopenic patients vulnerable to systemic hypoperfusion.

Molecular Footnotes and Flawless Evidence

The cellular pathophysiology driving the Indissociable Triad is rooted in an ischemia-inflammation spiral ignited by a depletion of endothelial nitric oxide bioavailability and a chronic rise in asymmetric dimethylarginine within the subendothelial microvascular bed. Hypertension-induced mechanical shear stress upregulates adhesion molecule expression on endothelial cells, inviting monocyte infiltration and triggering local interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion. At the skeletal muscle level, this pro-inflammatory signaling cascade stimulates the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor kappa-B pathways, upregulating the transcription of E3 ubiquitin ligases, specifically MuRF1 and MAFbx. This activation initiates the proteasome-mediated degradation of myofibrillar proteins, driving the programmed wasting of type II fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Simultaneously, within the central nervous system, this systemic cytokine load accumulates in the perivascular spaces, disrupting astrocytic aquaporin-4 polarization and paralyzing the cerebral glymphatic clearance mechanism. Consequently, the clearance of amyloid-beta and hyperphosphorylated tau oligomers from hippocampal and neocortical structures stalls. This accumulation forces microglial cells to transition into the neurotoxic M1 phenotype, upregulating inducible nitric oxide synthase synthesis.

The adrenal axis responds to this neurovascular distress via perivascular hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activation, overexpressing the 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme and raising local tissue cortisol concentrations. Hypercortisolemia suppresses the AKT/mTOR pathway in skeletal muscle, halting protein synthesis, while simultaneously depressing the synaptic vesicle protein synapsin-1 in the hippocampus, which shatters dendritic arborization. This complex cellular feedback loop provides flawless molecular evidence as to why a millimetric slowing of gait speed and the progressive loss of intellectual performance share an identical biomolecular destiny.

Our Slogan: “Medicine is not merely the art of counting the years added to a lengthening lifespan; it is the sublime science of preserving the structural integrity hidden within those years—safeguarding that vast and timeless philosophical harmony that stretches from vessel to neuron, and from muscle to mind.”

References

  1. Vascular Impairment, Muscle Atrophy, and Cognitive Decline: Critical Age-Related Conditions. 2024 Sep 13;12(9):2096. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12092096.
  2. Merchant RA, et al. Association of Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome with Sarcopenia and Systemic Inflammation in Pre-Frail Older Adults. Brain Sci. 2023 Jun 9;13(6):936. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13060936.
  3. Mao Z, et al. Association of intraindividual differences in estimated glomerular filtration rates based on cystatin C and creatinine with dementia: A cohort study of the UK Biobank. PLoS One. 2026 Mar 6;21(3):e0344566. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0344566.
  4. Du R, et al. Sarcopenia is not associated with hypertension, but sarcopenic obesity increases risk of hypertension: a 7-year cohort study. Front Public Health. 2025 Jan 15;12:1479169. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1479169.
  5. Hou Y, et al. Longitudinal associations of sarcopenia and biological age acceleration with rate of cognitive decline. BMC Public Health. 2026 Jan 26;26(1):761. doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26389-2.
  6. Nasrollahizadeh A, et al. Sarcopenia association with physical and psychological indices in community-dwelling aged population, Birjand Longitudinal Aging Study (BLAS). Aging Clin Exp Res. 2025 Jun 28;37(1):198. doi: 10.1007/s40520-025-03072-x.
  7. Cippoli GC, et al. Probable sarcopenia is associated with cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults: results from the FIBRA study. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2021 May 1;79(5):376–383. doi: 10.1590/0004-282X-ANP-2020-0186.
  8. Bahat G, et al. Assessments of functional status, comorbidities, polypharmacy, nutritional status and sarcopenia in Turkish community-dwelling male elderly. Aging Male. 2013 Jun;16(2):67-72. doi: 10.3109/13685538.2013.771329.
  9. Bahat G, et al. SARC-F Questionnaire Detects Frailty in Older Adults. J Nutr Health Aging. 2021;25(4):448-453. doi: 10.1007/s12603-020-1543-9.
  10. Delibas DH, et al. Clarifying the relationship between sarcopenia and depression in geriatric outpatients. Aging Male. 2021 Dec;24(1):29-36. doi: 10.1080/13685538.2021.1936482.
  11. Ozkok S, et al. Sarcopenic obesity versus sarcopenia alone with the use of probable sarcopenia definition for sarcopenia: Associations with frailty and physical performance. Clin Nutr. 2022 Nov;41(11):2509-2516. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2022.09.005.
  12. Zhang G, et al. The mediating effect of arteriosclerosis on the relationship between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment: a retrospective analysis. Front Med (Lausanne). 2026 May 29;13:1764510. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2026.1764510.
  13. Zhang K, et al. Sarcopenia and cognitive impairment: a multidimensional study of clinical associations, shared genetics, and causal links. Front Aging Neurosci. 2025 Dec 1;17:1708170. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1708170.
  14. Yanagita I, et al. A High Serum Cortisol/DHEA-S Ratio Is a Risk Factor for Sarcopenia in Elderly Diabetic Patients. J Endocr Soc. 2019 Mar 5;3(4):801-813. doi: 10.1210/js.2018-00271.
  15. Chen L, et al. Association of frailty with dementia and the impact of frailty on antihypertensive treatment protection against dementia in older hypertensive adults. Age Ageing. 2026 Feb 1;55(2):afag037. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afag037.
  16. Okudur SK, et al. Sarcopenia, but not malnutrition, is associated with fear of falling in older patients with dementia. North Clin Istanb. 2024 Jan 31;11(1):45-51. doi: 10.14744/nci.2023.07717.
  17. Ling Y, et al. Association between probable sarcopenia and dementia risk: a prospective cohort study with mediation analysis. Transl Psychiatry. 2024 Oct 1;14(1):398. doi: 10.1038/s41398-024-03131-3.
  18. Jin Y, et al. Adhering to Healthy Dietary Patterns Prevents Cognitive Decline of Older Adults with Sarcopenia: The Mr. OS and Ms. OS Study. 2025 Sep 26;17(19):3070. doi: 10.3390/nu17193070.
  19. Nasso R, et al. Dietary Protein and Physical Exercise for the Treatment of Sarcopenia. Clin Pract. 2024 Jul 25;14(4):1451-1467. doi: 10.3390/clinpract14040117.
  20. Casas-Herrero A, et al. Effect of a multicomponent exercise programme (VIVIFRAIL) on functional capacity in frail community elders with cognitive decline: study protocol for a randomized multicentre control trial. 2019 Jun 17;20(1):362. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3426-0.

 

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Şekip Altunkan

Dr. Şekip Altunkan is an internal medicine specialist with extensive clinical experience. He trained at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine and later served as an Associate Professor in Internal Medicine. He founded and led the Metropol Internal Medicine and Hypertension Clinic in Ankara, pioneering non-invasive Electron Beam Tomography (EBT) cardiac imaging, arterial-stiffness measurement, and nationwide Holter monitoring. He currently practices at his private clinic in Ankara, focusing on hypertension, vascular health, cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. He has published widely in national and international journals, serves as a peer reviewer for several international journals, and is the author of the book "Questions and Answers on Hypertension."

Share this article