Frailty biomarkers in humans and rodents: current approaches and future advances

Publication date: Available online 17 April 2019Source: Mechanisms of Ageing and DevelopmentAuthor(s): Alice E. Kane, David A. SinclairAbstractEven though they would have great benefit across research and clinical fields, currently there are no accepted biomarkers of frailty. Cross-sectional studies in humans have identified promising candidates including inflammatory markers such as IL-6, immune markers such as WBC count, clinical markers such as albumin, endocrine markers such as vitamin D, oxidative stress markers such as isoprostanes, proteins such as BDNF and epigenetic markers such as DNA methylation, but there are limitations to the current state of the research. Future approaches to the identification of frailty biomarkers should include longitudinal studies, studies using animal models of frailty, studies incorporating novel biomarkers combined into composite panels, and studies investigating sex differences and potential overlap between markers of biological age and frailty.
Source: Mechanisms of Ageing and Development - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research