Innovations in Geroscience to enhance mobility in older adults

Abstract

Aging is the primary risk factor for functional decline; thus, understanding and preventing disability among older adults has emerged as an important public health challenge of the 21st century. The science of gerontology – or geroscience - has the practical purpose of “adding life to the years.” The overall goal of geroscience is to increase healthspan, which refers to extending the portion of the lifespan in which the individual experiences enjoyment, satisfaction, and wellness. An important facet of this goal is preserving mobility, defined as the ability to move independently. Despite this clear purpose, this has proven to be a challenging endeavor as mobility and function in later life are influenced by a complex interaction of factors across multiple domains. Moreover, findings over the past decade have highlighted the complexity of walking and how targeting multiple systems, including the brain and sensory organs, as well as the environment in which a person lives, can have a dramatic effect on an older person's mobility and function. For these reasons, behavioral interventions that incorporate complex walking tasks and other activities of daily living appear to be especially helpful for improving mobility function. Other pharmaceutical interventions, such as oxytocin, and complementary and alternative interventions, such as massage therapy, may enhance physical function both through direct effects on biological mechanisms related to mobility, as well as indirectly through modulation of cognitive and socioemotional processes. Thus, the purpose of the present review is to describe evolving interventional approaches to enhance mobility and maintain healthspan in the growing population of older adults in the United States and countries throughout the world. Such interventions are likely to be greatly assisted by technological advances and the widespread adoption of virtual communications during and after the COVID-19 era.

Resilience: Biological Basis and Clinical Significance - A Perspective Report from the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR) Task Force

“…The targeting of biological mechanisms with geroscience-based interventions, including pharmacological (i.e., metformin, angiotensin receptor blockers, dasantinib, quercetin), hormonal (i.e., oxytocin), physical (i.e., brain and muscle stimulation) and nutraceutical (i.e., Vitamin D, resveratrol, Omega-3) strategies, represents a promising frontier in the attempt to preserve and improve mobility function in older people ( 23 , 24 ). In the context of infectious diseases (e.g., COVID-19, influenza, pneumonia), there might also be opportunities to improve the immunological status while acting on the background biology of aging through pharmacological interventions (e.g., low-dose mammalian Target of Rapamycin [mTOR] inhibitors) ( 25 ).…”

Factors associated with mobility decrease leading to disability: a cross-sectional nationwide study in Japan, with results from 8681 adults aged 20-89 years

“…In order to implement effective measures against mobility decrease leading to disability based on the stage, it is imperative to determine the related factors of all mobility decrease stages. A variety of predictors for mobility decrease have been examined, including age, sex, comorbidity, lifestyle factors (i.e., sedentary lifestyle, smoking, obesity), and physiological factors (i.e., poor nutritional status) [20], since mobility decrease is a compound of biological mechanisms and behavioural factors [21]. Similarly, many factors associated with disability have been reported, such as age, sex, obesity, smoking, insufficient physical activity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and musculoskeletal diseases [22][23][24][25][26].…”

Consumption of High-Leucine-Containing Protein Bar Following Breakfast Impacts Aminoacidemia and Subjective Appetite in Older Persons

“…Aging is accompanied by a decline in skeletal muscle mass, increasing the risk of physical disability ( 1 , 2 ). A contributing factor to the loss of muscle mass with aging is a diminished muscle anabolic response to a given dose of protein, a phenomenon that has been termed anabolic resistance ( 3 ).…”