Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon
The University of Otago has launched a new brand. Find out more

Contact Details

Email
phil.sheard@otago.ac.nz
Position
Associate Professor, Deputy HoD (Teaching)
Department
Department of Physiology
Qualifications
BSc PGDipSc (Otago) PhD (W Aust)
Research summary
Development, structure, function and ageing of neuromuscular systems

Research

Sarcopenia - age-related loss of muscle mass and strength.

Sarcopenia is the widely described phenomenon of age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. The functional impairments that arise from progressive weakness have profound implications for the elderly, and therefore for modern society. Sarcopenia manifests as a death of muscle fibers and decrease in cross sectional area of surviving fibers, the triggers for this progressive loss of muscle remain largely unknown.

We are particularly interested in the role the motor nerve terminal may play in driving sarcopenia, since progressive withdrawal of the motor nerve from the muscle fibre also seems to be a conspicuous feature of elderly muscle. We are currently examining age-related changes to the neuromuscular junction with a view to using this information to establish whether motor nerve withdrawal is a cause of muscle fibre death, or a consequence of it.

Publications

Peeters, W. M., Gram, M., Dias, G. J., Vissers, M. C. M., Hampton, M. B., Dickerhof, N., Bekhit, A. E., … Bayer, S., … Sheard, P. W., Danielson, K. M., … Cornwall, J., & Rowlands, D. S. (2023). Changes to insulin sensitivity in glucose clearance systems and redox following dietary supplementation with a novel cysteine-rich protein: A pilot randomized controlled trial in humans with type-2 diabetes. Redox Biology, 67, 102918. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2023.102918 Journal - Research Article

Crellin, S., Sheard, P., Heyward, P. M., De Ridder, D., & Glue, P. (2023). Modulation of axonal action potential conduction with bipolar disorder therapeutics. In K.-L. Horne (Ed.), Proceedings of the 39th International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research (AWCBR). (pp. 48). Retrieved from https://www.awcbr.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Redmond, A. K., Davies, T. M., Schofield, M. R., & Sheard, P. W. (2023). New tools for the investigation of muscle fiber-type spatial distributions across histological sections. Skeletal Muscle, 13, 7. doi: 10.1186/s13395-023-00316-0 Journal - Research Article

Lal, N. N., Cornwall, J., & Sheard, P. W. (2023). Use of a novel technique to assess impact of age-related denervation on mouse soleus muscle function. Biogerontology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s10522-023-10021-6 Journal - Research Article

Sheard, P. (2022, March). Is age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass primarily a neurodegenerative disease? UOC Research Seminar Series, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand. [Research Presentation]. Other Research Output

Back to top