Elevated Myostatin Levels in Patients with Liver Disease: A Potential Contributor to Skeletal Muscle Wasting

Loss of skeletal muscle mass is a poorly understood complication of end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Based on recent stem cell literature, we hypothesized that the potent negative regulator of muscle mass, myostatin, could play a role in the muscle loss associated with ESLD. In this preliminary investigation, we measured myostatin levels in patients undergoing liver transplant evaluation, using a novel enzyme-linked immunosensitivity assay. Myostatin levels were significantly elevated in patients with ESLD compared with healthy controls. These data suggest that myostatin deserves further investigation as a target for therapies designed to preserve muscle mass in patients with ESLD. (Anesth Analg 2010;111:707-9)