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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348217
Research Project: Sarcopenia, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Pharmacological intervention in frailty and sarcopenia: report by the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research Task Force

Author
item CESARI, MATTEO - University Of Toulouse
item FIELDING, ROGER - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item BENICHOU, OLIVIER - Eli Lilly & Company
item BERNABEI, ROBERTO - Catholic University Of The Sacred Heart Italy
item BHASIN, SHALENDER - Harvard University
item GURALNIK, JACK - University Of Maryland
item JETTE, ALAN - Boston University
item LANDI, FRANCESCO - Catholic University Of The Sacred Heart Italy
item PAHOR, MARCO - University Of Florida
item RODRIGUEZ-MANAS, LEOCADIO - University Hospital Of Getafe
item ROLLAND, YVES - University Of Toulouse
item ROUBENOFF, RONENN - Novartis Institutes
item SINCLAIR, ALAN - Foundation For Diabetes Research In Older People
item STUDENSKI, STEPHANIE - National Institute On Aging (NIA, NIH)
item TRAVISON, THOMAS - Hebrew Senior Life
item VELLAS, BRUNO - University Of Toulouse

Submitted to: The Journal of Frailty and Aging
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/2015
Publication Date: 9/9/2015
Citation: Cesari, M., Fielding, R.A., Benichou, O., Bernabei, R., Bhasin, S., Guralnik, J.M., Jette, A., Landi, F., Pahor, M., Rodriguez-Manas, L., Rolland, Y., Roubenoff, R., Sinclair, A.J., Studenski, S., Travison, T., Vellas, B. 2015. Pharmacological intervention in frailty and sarcopenia: report by the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research Task Force. The Journal of Frailty and Aging. 4(3):114-120. https://doi.org/10.14283/jfa.2015.64.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sarcopenia and frailty often co-exist and both have physical function impairment as a core component. Yet despite the urgency of the problem, the development of pharmaceutical therapies for sarcopenia and frailty has lagged, in part because of the lack of consensus definitions for the two conditions. A task force of clinical and basic researchers, leaders from the pharmaceutical and nutritional industries, and representatives from non-profit organizations was established in 2012 with the aim of addressing specific issues affecting research and clinical activities on frailty and sarcopenia. The task force came together on April 22, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts, prior to the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR). The theme of this meeting was to discuss challenges related to drugs designed to target the biology of frailty and sarcopenia as well as more general questions about designing efficient drug trials for these conditions. The present article reports the results of the task force's deliberations based on available evidence and preliminary results of ongoing activities. Overall, the lack of a consensus definition for sarcopenia and frailty was felt as still present and severely limiting advancements in the field. However, agreement appears to be emerging that low mass alone provides insufficient clinical relevance if not combined with muscle weakness and/or functional impairment. In the next future, it will be important to build consensus on clinically meaningful functional outcomes and test/validate them in long-term observational studies.