ArticleAging cell2021
The ketogenic diet preserves skeletal muscle with aging in mice.
Article in Aging cell, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship between Aging and Ketogenic Diet: A Bibliometric Analysis (1995-2025)Endocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of ketogenic diet on muscle mass, strength, aerobic metabolic capacity, and endurance in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of anti-aging diets and exercise on age-related musculoskeletal diseases via gut microbiota modulation.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Sparing Muscle While Losing Fat: A Narrative Review of Ketogenic Diets and Lean Mass Preservation During Weight Loss.Nutrients · 2026Review
- ChREBP Is Dispensable for Myofiber Type Switch but Promotes Skeletal Muscle Regeneration.Nutrients · 2026Article
- A High-Fat/High-Sugar Diet Is Associated with Reduced Motor Unit Number and Neuromuscular Dysfunction in Late-Middle-Aged Female Rats: A Pilot Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Decoding the mechanistic basis of liver-muscle communication in health and disease.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- The Role of Fibro/adipogenic Progenitors (FAPs) in Sarcopenia: Mechanisms and Potential Therapeutic Strategies.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2026Review
- Cellular Senescence in Skeletal Muscle Aging.Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea) · 2026Review
- Review
- A ketogenic diet enhances aerobic exercise adaptation and promotes muscle mitochondrial remodeling in hyperglycemic male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The impact of lipid-rich nutrition on ketogenesis and muscle weakness in sepsis.Intensive care medicine experimental · 2026Article
- Ketogenic metabolic therapy: low-carbohydrate interventions as novel neuroprotective strategies for cognitive dysfunction in diabetes.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- Role of the ketogenic diet in neurodevelopmental disorders: neuroprotection and clinical practice.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- RNA-seq and ChIP-seq unveils thyroid hormone receptor α deficiency affects skeletal muscle myoblast proliferation and differentiation via Col6a1 during aging.Journal of muscle research and cell motility · 2025Article
- Unraveling the Translational Relevance of β-Hydroxybutyrate as an Intermediate Metabolite and Signaling Molecule.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Unveiling the Anti-Aging Potential of 3HB: Lifespan Extension and Cellular Senescence Delay.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Therapeutic potential of ketone bodies on exercise intolerance in heart failure: looking beyond the heart.Cardiovascular research · 2025Review
- Dietary methionine restriction started late in life promotes healthy aging in a sex-specific manner.Science advances · 2025Article
- Combined Effects of Ketogenic Diet and Aerobic Exercise on Skeletal Muscle Fiber Remodeling and Metabolic Adaptation in Simulated Microgravity Mice.Metabolites · 2025Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The causes of the decline in skeletal muscle mass and function with age, known as sarcopenia, are poorly understood. Nutrition (calorie restriction) interventions impact many cellular processes and increase lifespan and preserve muscle mass and function with age. As we previously observed an increase in life span and muscle function in aging mice on a ketogenic diet (KD), we aimed to investigate the effect of a KD on the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass with age and the potential molecular mechanisms of this action. Twelve-month-old mice were assigned to an isocaloric control or KD until 16 or 26 months of age, at which time skeletal muscle was collected for evaluating mass, morphology, and biochemical properties. Skeletal muscle mass was significantly greater at 26 months in the gastrocnemius of mice on the KD. This result in KD mice was associated with a shift in fiber type from type IIb to IIa fibers and a range of molecular parameters including increased markers of NMJ remodeling, mitochondrial biogenesis, oxidative metabolism, and antioxidant capacity, while decreasing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, protein synthesis, and proteasome activity. Overall, this study shows the effectiveness of a long-term KD in mitigating sarcopenia. The diet preferentially preserved oxidative muscle fibers and improved mitochondrial and antioxidant capacity. These adaptations may result in a healthier cellular environment, decreasing oxidative and ER stress resulting in less protein turnover. These shifts allow mice to better maintain muscle mass and function with age.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.