Sarcopenia, a disorder that involves the generalized loss of skeletal muscle strength and mass, was formally recognized as a disease by its inclusion in the International Classification of Diseases in 2016. Sarcopenia typically affects older people, but younger individuals with chronic disease are also at risk. The risk of sarcopenia is high (with a prevalence of ≥25%) in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and this rheumatoid sarcopenia is associated with increased likelihood of falls, fractures and physical disability, in addition to the burden of joint inflammation and damage. Chronic inflammation mediated by cytokines such as TNF, IL-6 and IFNγ contributes to aberrant muscle homeostasis (for instance, by exacerbating muscle protein breakdown), and results from transcriptomic studies have identified dysfunction of muscle stem cells and metabolism in RA. Progressive resistance exercise is an effective therapy for rheumatoid sarcopenia but it can be challenging or unsuitable for some individuals. The unmet need for anti-sarcopenia pharmacotherapies is great, both for people with RA and for otherwise healthy older adults.

肌肉减少症是一种涉及骨骼肌力量和质量普遍丧失的疾病，于 2016 年被纳入国际疾病分类，被正式确认为一种疾病。肌肉减少症通常影响老年人，但患有慢性疾病的年轻个体也面临风险。类风湿性关节炎 (RA) 患者患肌少症的风险很高（患病率≥25%），这种类风湿性肌少症除了关节炎症和身体负担之外，还与跌倒、骨折和身体残疾的可能性增加相关。损害。由 TNF、IL-6 和 IFNγ 等细胞因子介导的慢性炎症会导致肌肉稳态异常（例如，加剧肌肉蛋白分解），转录组研究的结果已发现 RA 中肌肉干细胞和代谢功能障碍。渐进式抗阻运动是治疗类风湿性肌少症的有效疗法，但它可能具有挑战性或不适合某些人。对于 RA 患者和其他健康的老年人来说，抗肌肉减少症药物治疗的未满足需求是巨大的。