1999-P: Intranasal Oxytocin Improves Lean Muscle Mass in Older Adults with Sarcopenic Obesity: A Pilot Study

Obesity leads to sarcopenia and poor physical function with aging. Evidence in animals and in middle-age humans suggests that the pituitary hormone oxytocin reduces appetite, promotes weight loss, and improves glucose tolerance while preserving lean muscle mass. We studied oxytocin’s effect on body mass index (BMI), glucose tolerance, muscle mass, and physical function in an older adult population with sarcopenic obesity. Twenty-one older (≥60 yrs), obese (30-43 kg/m2), sedentary ( In conclusion, this preliminary data suggests that oxytocin leads to improvement in whole body lean mass. Future studies are needed in a larger population to determine whether older adults with sarcopenic obesity may benefit from treatment with oxytocin to improve lean muscle mass. Further work is needed to determine whether these improvements ultimately lead to improved physical function and other parameters of healthspan with aging. Disclosure S.E. Espinoza: None. J. Lee: None. C. Wang: None. D.J. MacCarthy: None. V. Ganapathy: None. C. Pascucci: None. N. Musi: None. Funding Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston); Clinical Translational Science Award Programs (University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston); University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston