About this Research Topic
Populations are aging globally. For an individual, aging increases the risk of functional decline and physical frailty, as well as cognitive impairment and dementia. The result of these factors is a dependency to a health state often more feared than death. Physical frailty, characterized by reduced reserve and resilience to stressors, affects 10-17% of the elderly population worldwide and is becoming a public health priority given its devastating effect on health. In recent years, validated interventions to prevent and recover from frailty have been developed.
Physical frailty and cognitive impairments are associated and often coexist in older adults. However, most frail individuals do not exhibit global cognitive impairment assessed through general cognitive screening tools, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination. Meanwhile, there is increasing epidemiological evidence that cognition is separable from physical functioning. This evidence is supported by the finding that 22% of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) had no physical indicators of frailty and many older adults with dementia are physically robust. What is unknown is whether there are seminal patterns in the joint development of physical frailty and cognitive impairment and whether these patterns reflect similar or different etiologies and neurobiological pathways. Interestingly, the relationship between frailty and brain structure and function has hardly been studied. Up to now, only a few neuroimaging studies have reported associations between individual components of the physical frailty assessment (e.g. gait speed, grip strength) and brain structural pathology, but only a few have delved into the neuronal underpinnings of the condition. This is disconcerting considering the successful application of neuroimaging techniques to other fields, in particular, dementia, that could be mirrored in the study of frailty.
This Research Topic aims to better describe processes and mechanisms that link brain structure and function with physical frailty among older adults. We call on researchers and scientists to submit original research, clinical case reports, opinion papers and reviews relevant to this topic. Considering that several heterogeneous definitions of frailty exist, we particularly encourage submissions that investigate the relationship between brain biomarkers and frailty, assessed by the Fried’s physical frailty phenotype (including those with modifications) for the purpose of being able to put the different research articles into context and maximize comparability. We look forward to your contribution with the hope that this Research Topic will help to kickstart the consideration of neuroimaging of the brain in frailty research.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Physical frailty and cognitive impairments are associated and often coexist in older adults. However, most frail individuals do not exhibit global cognitive impairment assessed through general cognitive screening tools, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination. Meanwhile, there is increasing epidemiological evidence that cognition is separable from physical functioning. This evidence is supported by the finding that 22% of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) had no physical indicators of frailty and many older adults with dementia are physically robust. What is unknown is whether there are seminal patterns in the joint development of physical frailty and cognitive impairment and whether these patterns reflect similar or different etiologies and neurobiological pathways. Interestingly, the relationship between frailty and brain structure and function has hardly been studied. Up to now, only a few neuroimaging studies have reported associations between individual components of the physical frailty assessment (e.g. gait speed, grip strength) and brain structural pathology, but only a few have delved into the neuronal underpinnings of the condition. This is disconcerting considering the successful application of neuroimaging techniques to other fields, in particular, dementia, that could be mirrored in the study of frailty.
This Research Topic aims to better describe processes and mechanisms that link brain structure and function with physical frailty among older adults. We call on researchers and scientists to submit original research, clinical case reports, opinion papers and reviews relevant to this topic. Considering that several heterogeneous definitions of frailty exist, we particularly encourage submissions that investigate the relationship between brain biomarkers and frailty, assessed by the Fried’s physical frailty phenotype (including those with modifications) for the purpose of being able to put the different research articles into context and maximize comparability. We look forward to your contribution with the hope that this Research Topic will help to kickstart the consideration of neuroimaging of the brain in frailty research.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Keywords: Frailty, Fried Frailty Phenotype, Neuroimaging, MRI, fMRI, DTI, MEG, EEG, Connectivity, Brain
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
