Intranasal Oxytocin Improves Lean Muscle Mass and Lowers LDL Cholesterol in Older Adults with Sarcopenic Obesity: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
Sara E Espinoza, Jessica L Lee, Chen-Pin Wang and 5 others
PMID 34029521WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults using intranasal oxytocin in a small pilot showed greater lean mass gain and LDL cholesterol reduction than placebo, but physical function and gait speed did not improve.
Key findings
01Lean mass increased by 2.250 kg more in the oxytocin group than in the placebo group in the adjusted repeated-measures analysis (P = .0116).
02LDL cholesterol decreased by 19.7 mg/dL more in the oxytocin group than in the placebo group in the adjusted repeated-measures analysis (P = .0226).
03Physical function, muscle strength, gait speed, appetite, and depression scores did not show significant changes from baseline.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Small pilot: 23 randomized and 21 completed, with 12 oxytocin and 9 placebo. No sample size calculation was performed, and the analyses were exploratory. Sarcopenic obesity was defined by obesity and slow gait speed, not by appendicular lean mass criteria. Physical function, muscle strength, gait speed, glucose, appetite, and depression scores did not change significantly from baseline. The authors note that SPPB may have had a ceiling effect because baseline physical function was relatively high. The unadjusted LDL cholesterol difference was not significant, and the significant LDL finding came from adjusted repeated-measures analysis. Participants were 71% female and 81% white, and future studies are needed in people aged 75 and older and varied ethnicities.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the adjusted lean mass and LDL cholesterol differences as proof that oxytocin is an effective treatment. This was a small pilot without sample size calculation, physical function did not change, and the unadjusted LDL difference was not significant.