Picca A, Calvani R, Cesari M et al.
Int J Mol Sci 2020;21
Link to Pubmed / Journal
Published October 19, 2020
Frailty.net review by Gérard Bozet, MD
Posted December 2, 2020
Physical frailty and sarcopenia is a prototypical geriatric condition characterised by reduced physical function and low muscle mass. The multifaceted pathophysiology of this condition recapitulates all hallmarks of aging making the identification of specific biomarkers challenging. To date, the identification of physical frailty and sarcopenia relies upon clinical, functional, and imaging parameters.
However, a fairly large number of metabolic, microbial, and inflammatory biomolecules have been investigated for their association with physical frailty and sarcopenia. It cannot be excluded that other relevant markers might be obtained through the analysis of a larger set of biomediators.
In the light of the lack of a “gold standard” biomarker that can reliably predict functional impairment in older adults, the incorporation of biological markers into clinical practice is yet to be achieved. The adoption of multi-marker approaches combined with multivariate modeling has shown great potential for addressing the complexity of physical frailty and sarcopenia pathophysiology and unveiling novel targets for interventions. Well-designed longitudinal studies are warranted to accomplish these ambitious tasks.
Reference(s)
Picca A, Calvani R, Cesari M, et al. Biomarkers of Physical Frailty and Sarcopenia: Coming up to the Place? Int J Mol Sci 2020;21.