Nerve and brain causes of getting weaker with age
Official title: Neural mechanisms of age-related weakness
Funded at Ohio University Athens · NIH-11113990 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether reduced nerve signals from the brain make older adults lose strength and whether fixing those nerve changes can help them stay stronger.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ohio University Athens NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Athens, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $603,730 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG078129-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11113990 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are older adults concerned about muscle weakness or declining mobility who can attend clinic visits and complete strength and nerve-function tests.
✕Less likely to help
You may not benefit directly if you are a younger person, have a non-age-related primary muscle disease, or cannot safely undergo the clinic testing required by the project.
What this research studies
From a patient's point of view, researchers will follow older adults over time, measuring muscle strength and nerve activation to see if low nerve signals predict future strength loss. If you take part, you may have strength tests and noninvasive nerve and muscle recordings during clinic visits. The team will also do experiments in rodents to change nerve excitability and see if that causes weakness and if reversing it restores strength. Combining what they find in people and animals helps show cause-and-effect and points to treatments that could be tested in future clinical trials.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new treatments that target nerve activation to preserve or restore strength and mobility in older adults.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies, including work by the investigators, have linked lower nerve excitability to weakness, but combining longitudinal human tracking with causal rodent experiments is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Ohio University Athens
Athens, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Clark, Brian C — Ohio University Athens
- Study coordinator: Clark, Brian C
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.