The Biomarkers of Frailty: Building Consensus
On January 15, 2018 the Canadian Frailty Network hosted a workshop in Toronto bringing together experts in the field of biomarkers, aging and frailty. The objectives of the workshop were to start building a consensus on potential frailty biomarker domains and identify specific frailty biomarkers to be measured in Canadian Longitudinal Study on Ageing (CLSA) biological samples. CFN has partnered with CLSA to measure potential frailty biomarkers in biological samples (whole blood, plasma, urine) collected in over 30,000 CLSA participants.
The twenty-two delegate attendees invited to the workshop included basic researchers, clinician researchers and healthcare administrators/policy experts. Together they discussed:
- the current state of evidence of biomarkers for frailty
- other frailty biomarkers initiatives around the world
- biomarkers that could be measured in the CLSA biological samples, in addition to those already been assayed, to identify the biological, biochemical and genetic factors/markers associated with the onset and progression of frailty in order to develop predictive, prognostic and diagnostic test to aid in the care and treatment of people living with frailty
Biomarkers may lead to the identification of mechanisms and pathways leading to or causing frailty, and the early identification of frailty which may be reversible in early stages. As well, identification of frailty may lead to better health outcomes as treatment plans adjust for specific interventions for frailty. Biomarkers may also help with the selection of interventions, monitoring of response to treatments, and identify those who may not respond well or benefit from specific treatments.