Pathophysiology and biomarker search for frailty due to reduced activity

Abstract

Frailty is a condition in which the mental and physical functions that support health status become more fragile with age. Although frailty progresses with age, it is believed that its progression can be minimized by early detection and appropriate measures. Frailty is diagnosed when three or more of the following five conditions are present: 1) decreased physical activity, 2) decreased walking speed, 3) decreased muscle strength, 4) general fatigue, and 5) unintentional weight loss. However, no objective indicator (biomarker) that can serve as an auxiliary diagnosis has been identified.

This study aims to (1) elucidate the pathophysiology of frailty, including the perspective of physical activity, and search for biomarkers, and (2) examine whether candidate biomarkers can be predictors of the occurrence or exacerbation of health problems in the elderly. To this end, the following four research plans will be promoted.

1) The National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG) is conducting registry research on frail older adults in conjunction with the biobank project, and has the foundation to promote this research. Utilizing this resource, we will conduct exploratory research on aging-related blood indices and metabolites in blood related to frailty, as well as gene expression.

2) At the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, we will use animal models to analyze candidate biomarkers of frailty and confirm their biological significance.

3) The National Center for Global Health and Medicine, the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, the National Cancer Center, and the NCGG will launch a validation cohort study to confirm candidate molecules for frailty biomarkers and analyze the association between candidate biomarkers and the occurrence or worsening of health disorders.

4) The National Center for Child Health and Development will create programs and content to train bioinformaticians for the analysis.

Perspectives

The discovery of a biomarker for frailty, including the perspective of physical activity, would be useful for diagnosis as an objective indicator and could be incorporated into health checkups to help extend the healthy life expectancy of the elderly. It is also expected to be useful in determining the effectiveness of frailty prevention and intervention measures.

Comments from principal researcher

We expect that the discovery of indicators related to frailty, apart from the inevitable changes associated with aging, will provide a foothold for extending healthy life expectancy. Pathophysiology of frailty is still not well known due to a lack of objective indicators. We hope that this study will yield results that will help position frailty in medical research.