{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T09:32:36Z","timestamp":1787045556235,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000049","name":"National Institute on Aging","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["3P01AG036675-13S1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["3P01AG036675-13S1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000049","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["3P01AG036675-13S1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["3P01AG036675-13S1"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049v75w11","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Mol. Sci.","IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Age-related dementia is commonly associated with several secondary complications such as sarcopenia. To date, the correlation between dementia and sarcopenia is not completely understood. This review summarizes the correlation between dementia and sarcopenia using human clinical and observational studies. We also summarize the impact of exercise on these two conditions. We performed a narrative search with systematic elements using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. In this review, we included studies that performed dementia assessments using appropriate methods (e.g., Mini-Mental State Examination, neuropsychological testing, brain MRI, or clinical dementia rating scales) and validated sarcopenia criteria (e.g., European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People). We included a total of nine studies consisting of 5217 participants (mean age 63.1\u201387.6 years). Of these, participants had dementia-only or mixed cognitive cohorts. Depending on diagnostic criteria, the prevalence of sarcopenia among individuals with dementia ranged from 6.8% to 68.8%. Most of the studies showed a positive association between dementia and sarcopenia. Interestingly, the higher the cognitive impairment, the higher the physical decline and signs of sarcopenia. As expected, any kind of physical activity (e.g., aerobic exercise, walking, and Tai Chi) improves cognitive function and brain health. Overall, the current literature supports that dementia is associated with increased risk of sarcopenia, supporting a brain-muscle axis in neurodegeneration. Physical activity appears to be a key modifiable factor with benefits for both cognitive and musculoskeletal health. Further longitudinal and mechanistic studies are needed to clarify causality and underlying pathways.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27167249","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T09:04:01Z","timestamp":1786698241000},"page":"7249","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Brain-Muscle Axis in Neurodegeneration:  Linking Dementia, Sarcopenia, and Exercise-Mediated Neuroprotection"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Garima","family":"Paul","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-9487-1647","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mehek","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diana M.","family":"Asante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9084-7445","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Deborah A.","family":"Jehu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community & Behavioral Health Sciences, Institute of Public and Preventive, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8231-1256","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad Badruzzaman","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4480-3484","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos","family":"Isales","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"},{"name":"Center for Healthy Aging, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"},{"name":"Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sadanand","family":"Fulzele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"},{"name":"Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"},{"name":"Center for Healthy Aging, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"},{"name":"Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(22)00876-5","article-title":"Life expectancy by county, race, and ethnicity in the USA, 2000\u201319: A systematic analysis of health disparities","volume":"400","author":"Kendrick","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1159\/000109998","article-title":"Prevalence of dementia in the United States: The aging, demographics, and memory study","volume":"29","author":"Plassman","year":"2007","journal-title":"Neuroepidemiology"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2742","DOI":"10.1002\/alz.13746","article-title":"U.S. dementia care spending by state: 2010\u20132019","volume":"20","author":"Lastuka","year":"2024","journal-title":"Alzheimer\u2019s Dement."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"e44937","article-title":"Navigating Early Alzheimer\u2019s Diagnosis: A Comprehensive Review of Diagnostic Innovations","volume":"15","author":"Juganavar","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"834","DOI":"10.1212\/CON.0000000000001137","article-title":"Neuropathology of Dementia Disorders","volume":"28","author":"Schneider","year":"2022","journal-title":"Continuum"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118","DOI":"10.1177\/1715163517690745","article-title":"Dementia: What pharmacists need to know","volume":"150","author":"Duong","year":"2017","journal-title":"Can. 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