Muscle mass loss measured with portable ultrasound in hospitalized older adults: The ECOSARC study.

Objectives: The main objective was to analyze the evolution of muscle of the Quadriceps Rectus Femoris (QRF) between admission and discharge, in older adults hospitalized with an acute medical disease in Acute Geriatric Units (AGUs).

Design: Prospective multicentric observational cohort study.

Setting: Seven AGUs from University Hospitals in Spain.

"SARCOPENIA MEASURED BY ULTRASOUND IN HOSPITALIZED OLDER ADULTS" (ECOSARC): multi-centre, prospective observational study protocol.

Background: Measurement of muscle mass and function, and thereafter, screening and diagnosis of sarcopenia, is a challenge and a need in hospitalized older adults. However, it is difficult in complex real-world old patients, because usually they are unable to collaborate with clinical, functional, and imaging testing. Ultrasound measurement of quadriceps rectus femoris (QRF) provides a non-invasive, real-time assessment of muscle quantity and quality, and is highly acceptable to participants with excellent inter-rater and intra-rater variability.

Association between endothelial dysfunction and frailty: the Toledo Study for Healthy Aging.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), both clinical and subclinical, has been proposed as one of the mechanisms underlying frailty. However, there is no evidence addressing the relationship between the earliest stage of CVD (endothelial dysfunction) and frailty. The goal of the study was to analyze the association between endothelial dysfunction, evaluated by asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels, and frailty.