Objective: To investigate body composition parameters, focusing on skeletal muscle mass, in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and compared them with those of healthy older adults.

Background: The loss of skeletal muscle mass has been associated with decreased physical performance. The body composition characteristics in PSP are not well understood.

Method: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study, included 39 patients with PSP and 30 healthy older adults (CON group). Using a multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis, we measured the skeletal mass index (SMI), basal metabolism, extracellular water/total body water ratio (ECW/TBW), and body fat percentage and examined the relationship between SMI and age, body mass index (BMI) and other body composition parameters.

Results: The PSP group had a higher rate of low muscle mass (56.4%) than the CON group (10.0%), although the ages and BMIs were similar. The leg SMI was lower for the PSP group, while the ECW/TBW was higher for the PSP group. The basal metabolism was lower for the PSP group than for the controls but only in the women. The basal metabolism and BMI showed a significant correlation with SMI in the PSP group. There was a significant correlation between SMI and age, ECW/TBW, and body fat percentage in the PSP group but only in the women.

Conclusion: We showed that the PSP had a high rate of low muscle mass compared with the healthy older adults. We also showed differences in terms of sex in muscle mass loss in the women with PSP, which was associated not only with inactivity but also with aging.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-loss-of-skeletal-muscle-mass-in-progressive-supranuclear-palsy/