Background In 2010, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) published a sarcopenia definition that aimed to foster advances in identifying and caring for people with sarcopenia. In early 2018, the Working Group met again (EWGSOP2) to update the original definition in order to reflect scientific and clinical evidence that has built over the last decade. This paper presents our updated findings. Objectives To increase consistency of research design, clinical diagnoses, and ultimately, care for people with sarcopenia. Recommendations Sarcopenia is a muscle disease (muscle failure) rooted in adverse muscle changes that accrue across a lifetime; sarcopenia is common among adults of older age but can also occur earlier in life. In this updated consensus paper on sarcopenia, EWGSOP2: (1) focuses on low muscle strength as a key characteristic of sarcopenia, uses detection of low muscle quantity and quality to confirm the sarcopenia diagnosis, and identifies poor physical performance as indicative of severe sarcopenia; (2) updates the clinical algorithm that can be used for sarcopenia case-finding, diagnosis and confirmation, and severity determination, and (3) provides clear cut-off points for measurements of variables that identify and characterize sarcopenia. Conclusions EWGSOP2’s updated recommendations aim to increase awareness of sarcopenia and its risk. With these new recommendations, EWGSOP2 calls for healthcare professionals who treat patients at risk for sarcopenia to take actions that will promote early detection and treatment. We also encourage more research in the field of sarcopenia in order to prevent or delay adverse health outcomes that incur a heavy burden for patients and healthcare systems.

The purpose of this guideline is to present evidence-based and consensus-based recommendations for the prevention and treatment of postoperative delirium. The cornerstones of the guideline are the preoperative identification and handling of patients at risk, adequate intraoperative care, postoperative detection of delirium and management of delirious patients. The scope of this guideline is not to cover ICU delirium. Considering that many medical disciplines are involved in the treatment of surgical patients, a team-based approach should be implemented into daily practice. This guideline is aimed to promote knowledge and education in the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative setting not only among anaesthesiologists but also among all other healthcare professionals involved in the care of surgical patients.

BackgroundAll proposed definitions of sarcopenia include the measurement of muscle mass, but the techniques and threshold values used vary. Indeed, the literature does not establish consensus on the best technique for measuring lean body mass. Thus, the objective measurement of sarcopenia is hampered by limitations intrinsic to assessment tools. The aim of this study was to review the methods to assess muscle mass and to reach consensus on the development of a reference standard.MethodsLiterature reviews were performed by members of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis working group on frailty and sarcopenia. Face‐to‐face meetings were organized for the whole group to make amendments and discuss further recommendations.ResultsA wide range of techniques can be used to assess muscle mass. Cost, availability, and ease of use can determine whether the techniques are better suited to clinical practice or are more useful for research. No one technique subserves all requirements but dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry could be considered as a reference standard (but not a gold standard) for measuring muscle lean body mass.ConclusionsBased on the feasibility, accuracy, safety, and low cost, dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry can be considered as the reference standard for measuring muscle mass.

No abstract

Long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can derive from diet or from α-linolenic acid (ALA) by elongation and desaturation. We investigated the association of common genetic variation with plasma phospholipid levels of the four major n-3 PUFAs by performing genome-wide association studies in five population-based cohorts comprising 8,866 subjects of European ancestry. Minor alleles of SNPs in FADS1 and FADS2 (desaturases) were associated with higher levels of ALA (p = 3×10−64) and lower levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, p = 5×10−58) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, p = 4×10−154). Minor alleles of SNPs in ELOVL2 (elongase) were associated with higher EPA (p = 2×10−12) and DPA (p = 1×10−43) and lower docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, p = 1×10−15). In addition to genes in the n-3 pathway, we identified a novel association of DPA with several SNPs in GCKR (glucokinase regulator, p = 1×10−8). We observed a weaker association between ALA and EPA among carriers of the minor allele of a representative SNP in FADS2 (rs1535), suggesting a lower rate of ALA-to-EPA conversion in these subjects. In samples of African, Chinese, and Hispanic ancestry, associations of n-3 PUFAs were similar with a representative SNP in FADS1 but less consistent with a representative SNP in ELOVL2. Our findings show that common variation in n-3 metabolic pathway genes and in GCKR influences plasma phospholipid levels of n-3 PUFAs in populations of European ancestry and, for FADS1, in other ancestries.

In this community-based sample, PUFAs, and especially total n-3 fatty acids, were independently associated with lower levels of proinflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-1ra, TNFalpha, C-reactive protein) and higher levels of antiinflammatory markers (soluble IL-6r, IL-10, TGFbeta) independent of confounders. Our findings support the notion that n-3 fatty acids may be beneficial in patients affected by diseases characterized by active inflammation.

BackgroundSarcopenia is increasingly recognized as a correlate of ageing and is associated with increased likelihood of adverse outcomes including falls, fractures, frailty and mortality. Several tools have been recommended to assess muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance in clinical trials. Whilst these tools have proven to be accurate and reliable in investigational settings, many are not easily applied to daily practice.MethodsThis paper is based on literature reviews performed by members of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) working group on frailty and sarcopenia. Face-to-face meetings were afterwards organized for the whole group to make amendments and discuss further recommendations.ResultsThis paper proposes some user-friendly and inexpensive methods that can be used to assess sarcopenia in real-life settings. Healthcare providers, particularly in primary care, should consider an assessment of sarcopenia in individuals at increased risk; suggested tools for assessing risk include the Red Flag Method, the SARC-F questionnaire, the SMI method or different prediction equations. Management of sarcopenia should primarily be patient centered and involve the combination of both resistance and endurance based activity programmes with or without dietary interventions. Development of a number of pharmacological interventions is also in progress.ConclusionsAssessment of sarcopenia in individuals with risk factors, symptoms and/or conditions exposing them to the risk of disability will become particularly important in the near future.

Although recent epidemiological studies found a positive correlation between dietary vitamin C intake and bone mineral density, data on plasma levels of vitamin C or other antioxidants in osteoporotic subjects are scanty. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether antioxidant defenses are decreased in elderly osteoporotic women and, if this is the case, to understand whether osteoporosis is a condition characterized by increased oxidative stress. To answer these questions, plasma vitamins C, E, and A; uric acid; and the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase in plasma and erythrocytes and of glutathione peroxidase in plasma were measured in 75 subjects with osteoporosis and 75 controls. Dietary and endogenous antioxidants were consistently lower in osteoporotic than in control subjects. On the other hand, plasma levels of malondialdehyde, a byproduct of lipid peroxidation, did not differ between groups. Our results reveal that antioxidant defenses are markedly decreased in osteoporotic women. The mechanisms underlying antioxidant depletion and its relevance to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis deserve further investigation.