Diagnostic and prognostic value of calf circumference for sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults.

Background: An age-dependent normative values of calf circumference (CC) has been recently proposed as an accessible proxy for muscle mass. However, its usefulness to estimate sarcopenia has not been assessed. The objectives of the present study were to determine if the substitution of the classical way to assess muscle mass by these values have enough diagnostic accuracy and prognostic value among older adults living in the community.

Biomarkers of frailty.

Several biomarkers have been proposed to identify frailty, a multisystemic age-related syndrome. However, the complex pathophysiology and the absence of a consensus on a comprehensive and universal definition make it challenging to pinpoint a singular biomarker or set of biomarkers that conclusively characterize frailty. This review delves into the main laboratory biomarkers, placing special emphasis on those associated with various pathways closely tied to the frailty condition, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic and endocrine alterations and microRNA.

Fat Mass Accounts for Insulin Resistance Impact on Functional Decline and Mortality in Nondiabetic Older Adults.

Objective: To assess the potential role of body composition in the association of insulin resistance (IR) with functional decline and mortality in nondiabetic older persons.

Design: Longitudinal population-based cohort of community-dwelling people from Toledo, Spain, aged 65 years or older.

Setting And Participants: A total of 1114 nondiabetic persons from the Toledo Study of Healthy Aging cohort (mean age: 74.

Dietary phosphate restriction prevents the appearance of sarcopenia signs in old mice.

Background: Sarcopenia is defined by the progressive and generalized loss of muscle mass and function associated with aging. We have previously proposed that aging-related hyperphosphataemia is linked with the appearance of sarcopenia signs. Because there are not effective treatments to prevent sarcopenia, except for resistance exercise, we propose here to analyse whether the dietary restriction of phosphate could be a useful strategy to improve muscle function and structure in an animal model of aging.

Pulmonary function is associated with frailty, hospitalization and mortality in older people: 5-year follow-up.

Background: The relationship between pulmonary impairment and frailty has rarely been studied in community-dwelling older adults.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the association between pulmonary function and frailty (prevalent and incident), identifying the best cut-off points to detect frailty and its association with hospitalization and mortality.

Methods: A longitudinal observational cohort study with 1188 community-dwelling older adults was taken from the Toledo Study for Healthy Aging.

High levels of soluble RAGE are associated with a greater risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients treated with dexamethasone.

Blood levels of the soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE) are acutely elevated during the host inflammatory response to infection and predict mortality in COVID-19. However, the prognostic performance of this biomarker in the context of treatments to reduce inflammation is unclear. In this study we investigated the association between sRAGE and mortality in dexamethasone-treated COVID-19 patients.

STIM/Orai Inhibition as a Strategy for Alleviating Diabetic Erectile Dysfunction Through Modulation of Rat and Human Penile Tissue Contractility and in vivo Potentiation of Erectile Responses.

Background: Stromal interaction molecule (STIM)/Orai calcium entry system appears to have a role in erectile dysfunction (ED) pathophysiology but its specific contribution to diabetic ED was not elucidated.

Aim: To evaluate STIM/Orai inhibition on functional alterations associated with diabetic ED in rat and human penile tissues and on in vivo erectile responses in diabetic rats.

Methods: Rat corpus cavernosum (RCC) strips from nondiabetic (No DM) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic (DM) rats and human penile resistance arteries (HPRA) and corpus cavernosum (HCC) from ED patients undergoing penile prosthesis insertion were functionally evaluated in organ chambers and wire myographs.

Effect of Physical Activity/Exercise on Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Muscle and Vascular Aging.

Functional status is considered the main determinant of healthy aging. Impairment in skeletal muscle and the cardiovascular system, two interrelated systems, results in compromised functional status in aging. Increased oxidative stress and inflammation in older subjects constitute the background for skeletal muscle and cardiovascular system alterations.

The ability of eight frailty instruments to identify adverse outcomes across different settings: the FRAILTOOLS project.

Background: To compare the performance of eight frailty instruments to identify relevant adverse outcomes for older people across different settings over a 12 month follow-up.

Methods: Observational longitudinal prospective study of people aged 75 + years enrolled in different settings (acute geriatric wards, geriatric clinic, primary care clinics, and nursing homes) across five European cities. Frailty was assessed using the following: Frailty Phenotype, SHARE-FI, 5-item Frailty Trait Scale (FTS-5), 3-item FTS (FTS-3), FRAIL scale, 35-item Frailty Index (FI-35), Gérontopôle Frailty Screening Tool, and Clinical Frailty Scale.

Hyperphosphatemia-Induced Oxidant/Antioxidant Imbalance Impairs Vascular Relaxation and Induces Inflammation and Fibrosis in Old Mice.

Aging impairs vascular function, but the mechanisms involved are unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze whether aging-related hyperphosphatemia is implied in this effect by elucidating the role of oxidative stress. C57BL6 mice that were aged 5 months (young) and 24 months (old), receiving a standard (0.

Unobtrusive Sensors for the Assessment of Older Adult's Frailty: A Scoping Review.

Ubiquity (devices becoming part of the context) and transparency (devices not interfering with daily activities) are very significant in healthcare monitoring applications for elders. The present study undertakes a scoping review to map the literature on sensor-based unobtrusive monitoring of older adults' frailty. We aim to determine what types of devices comply with unobtrusiveness requirements, which frailty markers have been unobtrusively assessed, which unsupervised devices have been tested, the relationships between sensor outcomes and frailty markers, and which devices can assess multiple markers.

Higher sRAGE Levels Predict Mortality in Frail Older Adults with Cardiovascular Disease.

Introduction: The evidence that blood levels of the soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) predict mortality in people with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is inconsistent. To clarify this matter, we investigated if frailty status influences this association.

Methods: We analysed data of 1,016 individuals (median age, 75 years) from 3 population-based European cohorts, enrolled in the FRAILOMIC project.

A Comparison of Frailty Assessment Instruments in Different Clinical and Social Care Settings: The Frailtools Project.

Objective: To determine which of 8 commonly employed frailty assessment tools demonstrate the most appropriate characteristics to be employed in different clinical and social settings.

Design: Cross-sectional multicenter European-based study.

Setting And Participants: 1440 patients aged ≥75 years evaluated in geriatric inpatient wards, geriatric outpatient clinics, primary care clinics, and nursing homes.

Impact of nutritional status according to GLIM criteria on the risk of incident frailty and mortality in community-dwelling older adults.

Background & Aims: Poor nutritional status leads to multiple adverse outcomes, but few studies have assessed its role as a risk factor for incident frailty and death in community-dwelling older adults. Hence, the aim of this paper is to assess the role of nutritional status using the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria in the risk of frailty and mortality in Spanish community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: We used data from two waves (waves 2 (2011-2013) and 3 (2015-2017)) from the Toledo Study of Healthy Ageing, which is an observational, prospective cohort (average follow-up = 3.

Effect of clopidogrel vs. aspirin on pro-atherosclerotic NLRP1 inflammasome expression in endothelial cells. ECLOAS study.

Introduction And Objectives: NRP1 inflammasome is crucial in endothelial dysfunction. Platelets are mandatory for the inflammation that precedes it. Aspirin could inhibit NLRP1 inflammasome in endothelial cells, and clopidogrel could also provoke a reduction in vascular inflammation.

Epigenetic Regulation of Gfi1 in Endocrine-Related Cancers: a Role Regulating Tumor Growth.

Prostate and breast cancer constitute the most common cancers among men and women worldwide. The aging population is one of the main risk factors for prostate and breast cancer development and accumulating studies link aging with epigenetic changes. Growth factor independence-1 (Gfi1) is a transcriptional repressor with an important role in human malignancies, including leukemia, colorectal carcinoma, and lung cancer, but its role in prostate and breast cancer is unknown.

Physical activity and exercise: Strategies to manage frailty.

Frailty, a consequence of the interaction of the aging process and certain chronic diseases, compromises functional outcomes in the elderly and substantially increases their risk for developing disabilities and other adverse outcomes. Frailty follows from the combination of several impaired physiological mechanisms affecting multiple organs and systems. And, though frailty and sarcopenia are related, they are two different conditions.

Enhanced Contribution of Orai Channels to Contractility of Human Penile Smooth Muscle in Erectile Dysfunction.

Background: Store-operated calcium entry and its key players, stromal interaction molecule (STIM) and Orai calcium channels, have been proposed as emergent therapeutic targets in cardiovascular pathophysiology. We hypothesize alteration of STIM/Orai signaling in erectile dysfunction (ED).

Aim: To evaluate the contribution of STIM/Orai to human penile tissue contraction and to analyze the influence of ED on STIM/Orai signaling at functional and expression levels in human penile vascular tissues.

Frailty as a phenotypic manifestation of underlying oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress plays a key role in the aging process. Lifestyle behaviours including low physical activity and inadequate nutritional habits in addition to genetic susceptibility and some chronic diseases compromise physiological response to free radicals and promote oxidative damage. Reduced resilience (referred to the ability to respond to stressors or adverse conditions) or functional reserve in isolated organs or systems determines clinical manifestations as the age-related chronic diseases while multisystemic dysfunction results in the frailty phenotype.

Short-term pharmacological activation of Nrf2 ameliorates vascular dysfunction in aged rats and in pathological human vasculature. A potential target for therapeutic intervention.

Oxidative stress contributes to endothelial dysfunction, a key step in cardiovascular disease development. Ageing-related vascular dysfunction involves defective antioxidant response. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-like-2 (Nrf2), orchestrates cellular response to oxidative stress.

Increased levels of soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE) are associated with a higher risk of mortality in frail older adults.

Objective: to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of the soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (sRAGE) and mortality in frail and non-frail older adults.

Methods: we studied 691 subjects (141 frail and 550 non-frail) with a median age of 75 years from two population-based cohorts, the Toledo Study of Healthy Aging and the AMI study, who were enrolled to the FRAILOMIC initiative. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to assess the relationship between baseline sRAGE and mortality.

Diabetes and frailty.

Purpose Of Review: Disability and its preceding condition, frailty, are outstanding issues for achieving healthy aging. Diabetes is a very prevalent chronic disease among older patients that favours frailty status. This review will analyse the relationship between diabetes and frailty in the elderly and summarize the current strategies to improve physical function in diabetic older patients.