Bhanji RA, et al. - In this retrospective study, researchers determined the course of sarcopenia from transplant evaluation to 1-year post-transplant and its implications on hospitalization and mortality following liver transplantation. Study participants included 293 adult patients who received a liver transplant from 2002 to 2006 at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Investigators found that sarcopenia was present in 146/293 (50%) of the patients pre-transplant. A significant decrease in muscle mass and an increase in myosteatosis was noted while awaiting liver transplantation. No significant change in abdominal visceral fat was observed. No statistically significant difference was found in 1-year mortality in patients with de novo sarcopenia vs patients with sarcopenia both pre- and post-transplant. Overall, they concluded that sarcopenia progresses up to 1 year following liver transplantation and was related to an increase in post-transplant length of stay.