Strengthening Muscle for Healthy Ageing: Innovative Treatments for Sarcopenia

Ancel S, Le Moal E, Wang YX, Blau HM · 2026 · Nature reviews. Drug discovery · Atlas ID ANC2026

What this study shows

A major pharma-facing review (Blau lab, Stanford/Sanford Burnham) surveying emerging drug strategies for sarcopenia — the age-related loss of muscle mass/strength with no approved therapy. Among the pleiotropic mechanisms discussed, mTORC1 inhibitors are highlighted specifically for their ability to restore impaired autophagy in aging muscle, alongside NAD-related molecules, urolithin A, myostatin inhibitors, SARMs, and 15-PGDH ('gerozyme') inhibitors. Useful high-level context for where mTORC1 modulation sits among competing anti-sarcopenia strategies, though it does not itself address dynamic/temporal mTOR activity.

Abstract

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Millions of people worldwide suffer from sarcopenia, a clinically recognized syndrome that is defined as the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. Sarcopenia reduces mobility, leads to falls and fractures, and increases the risk of death, posing an ever-increasing health-care and economic burden to society. There are currently no approved therapies for the syndrome, partly owing to its multifactorial aetiology, highlighting the need for therapies with pleiotropic beneficial effects on muscle function.

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At a glance

Evidence type	R Review — secondary literature, not a new result Marked R because it is a review or synthesis of existing evidence rather than a new primary result; that is a different form of writing, not a weaker one.
Study type	Narrative Review
Model system	Human (review; translational/clinical focus)
Journal	Nature reviews. Drug discovery
Year	2026
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-08-22
Source	DOI 10.1038/s41573-026-01514-3 · PMID 42706321

Extracted findings

Intervention	Narrative review of pharmacological strategies for sarcopenia: mTORC1 inhibitors, NAD-related molecules, urolithin A, myostatin inhibitors, SARMs, VEGF/apelin, anti-inflammatory agents, 15-PGDH inhibitors, GLP-1RA combinations
Target	Multiple: mTORC1 (autophagy), myostatin, NAD+ metabolism, 15-PGDH
Model	Human (review; translational/clinical focus)
Effect	Synthesizes emerging drug classes to preserve muscle mass/strength in aging; positions mTORC1 inhibition as one of several pleiotropic strategies

Cite this paper

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Ancel, S., Le Moal, E., Wang, Y. X., & Blau, H. M. (2026). Strengthening Muscle for Healthy Ageing: Innovative Treatments for Sarcopenia. Nature reviews. Drug discovery. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-026-01514-3

@article{ANC2026,
  author       = {Ancel, S. and Le Moal, E. and Wang, Y. X. and Blau, H. M.},
  title        = {{Strengthening Muscle for Healthy Ageing: Innovative Treatments for Sarcopenia}},
  journal      = {Nature reviews. Drug discovery},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41573-026-01514-3},
  note         = {PMID: 42706321},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record ANC2026) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ANC2026/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_ANC2026,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record ANC2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ANC2026/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}