Key Benefits

• Assess hormonal and nutritional drivers behind muscle loss and sarcopenia risk.
• Spot anabolic hormone shortfalls via low IGF-1 or testosterone affecting muscle maintenance.
• Clarify causes of weakness, slower recovery, or low energy related to muscle loss.
• Flag malnutrition or inflammation with low albumin that undermines muscle rebuilding.
• Guide targeted care: optimize protein, resistance training, vitamin D, or endocrine evaluation.
• Protect fertility by avoiding unnecessary testosterone therapy that suppresses sperm production.
• Track progress after nutrition or training changes by rechecking IGF-1 and albumin.
• Best interpreted alongside grip strength, muscle mass, and functional performance measures.

What are Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia biomarkers are measurable signals in blood or urine that reflect the state of your skeletal muscle—its size, quality, and turnover. They convert silent, early muscle change into objective data, enabling earlier detection, distinguishing true muscle loss from inactivity or fluid shifts, and guiding targeted nutrition, training, and medical therapy. Some markers come directly from muscle or its metabolism, such as muscle-derived byproducts (creatinine) filtered by the kidney and proteins released with muscle stress (creatine kinase). Others capture the forces that govern muscle balance: growth signals (IGF‑1, testosterone, DHEA) that drive protein synthesis, inhibitors of growth (myostatin) that restrain it, and anti-growth immune signals (CRP, IL‑6, TNF‑α) that promote breakdown. Nutritional and mineral cues also matter, including vitamin D, which supports muscle cell function and nerve-muscle communication (neuromuscular coupling). By mapping these biological threads—muscle output, hormonal drive, inflammation, and nutrition—biomarker testing reveals why muscle is being lost and whether interventions are restoring an anabolic state, helping preserve strength, mobility, and resilience with age.

Why are Sarcopenia biomarkers important?

Sarcopenia biomarkers reflect the body’s anabolic, androgenic, and nutritional‑inflammatory balance that governs muscle building and maintenance. Because muscle is a metabolic organ, these signals forecast strength, mobility, glucose control, bone and immune resilience.

IGF‑1 is age‑specific (often ~100–300 in adults); muscle retention tends to be best with mid‑to‑upper age‑adjusted values. Total testosterone spans ~300–1000 in men and ~15–70 in women; mid‑normal supports lean mass. Albumin is typically ~3.5–5.0; upper‑normal suggests adequate protein and low inflammation.

When these sit low, physiology turns catabolic: reduced IGF‑1 and testosterone blunt muscle protein synthesis, and low albumin signals inflammation or malnutrition. Expect weaker grip, slower gait, fatigue, falls; older adults and post‑menopausal women are vulnerable, and in teens low IGF‑1 can blunt strength gains. In pregnancy, albumin runs lower from hemodilution rather than muscle loss.

Very high is not automatically better. Elevated IGF‑1 can signal growth‑hormone excess and insulin resistance; high testosterone may cause erythrocytosis or sleep apnea in men and acne, hirsutism, or cycle changes in women. High albumin often reflects dehydration, not extra muscle.

Big picture: these markers connect endocrine tone, nutrition, and inflammation to function. Tracking trends with grip strength and gait speed surfaces sarcopenia risk and links to long‑term outcomes—frailty, fractures, hospitalization, and loss of independence.

What Insights Will I Get?

Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength that disrupts mobility, glucose control, bone integrity, immune resilience, and overall metabolism. Biomarker testing reveals your anabolic capacity, protein reserves, and inflammatory load—the physiology that governs muscle maintenance. At Superpower, we test these specific biomarkers: IGF-1, Testosterone, Albumin.

IGF-1 is a liver‑made hormone that carries out growth hormone’s effects (somatomedin). It directly drives muscle protein building and repair. Lower IGF‑1 is linked with reduced synthesis, slower recovery, and higher sarcopenia risk; physiologic levels point to stable turnover. Adequate IGF‑1 supports steady renewal of contractile proteins and neuromuscular function.

Testosterone is a sex steroid from testes, ovaries, and adrenals that powers muscle building (anabolism), motor unit performance, and bone support. Lower levels correlate with reduced lean mass and strength, especially with aging; physiologic levels indicate maintained anabolic signaling. Stable testosterone helps preserve strength, power, and functional capacity.

Albumin is the main blood protein made by the liver that reflects whole‑body protein status and systemic inflammation. Low albumin often signals catabolic stress, inflammation, or inadequate protein reserves and is associated with frailty; stable albumin indicates a resilient protein economy. While not muscle‑specific, it mirrors the substrate and recovery capacity required for muscle maintenance.

Notes: Age lowers IGF‑1 and testosterone; acute illness, chronic disease, and liver or kidney dysfunction depress albumin; glucocorticoids and other drugs alter anabolic signaling; testosterone shows diurnal variation; pregnancy and oral estrogens change binding proteins and apparent levels; hydration status and assay differences affect results.