On January 27th, 2026, Medscape highlighted two recent studies originally published in Nature Metabolism on December 3rd, 2025, co-authored by AFAR Board Member Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD. The studies examined how the cellular cleanup system called chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) affects muscle health.
Dr. Cuervo explained the impact of CMA across the body, “CMA is required in all the cells of your body. In the brain, as CMA declines, you will experience problems with memory and motor coordination. In the skeletal muscle, you have problems with force and movement. In the liver, you have problems with detoxification. In the retina, you have problems with sight.”
Further emphasizing the importance of these findings for overall health, she added, “By restoring CMA in many of the organs, you will have a more functional overall organism.”
Read the two studies in Nature Metabolism, “Age-related decline of chaperone-mediated autophagy in skeletal muscle leads to progressive myopathy” and “Chaperone-mediated autophagy sustains muscle stem cell regenerative functions but declines with age” here.
Read the full Medscape article, “New Cellular Clues Reveal a Path to Preventing Sarcopenia” here.
Learn more about Autophagy and the other Hallmarks of Aging here.
