Validation of exploratory biomarkers of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults: insights from the IN-TEMPO clinical trial.

Ageing is a process characterized by a gradual functional decline occurring in all body regions and varying individually by genetic background, caloric intake, and environmental stimuli [1]. As the global population ages, identifying strategies to delay age-related decline, such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, and sarcopenia, is crucial. Sarcopenia is considered a type of persistent muscle wasting, characterized by a gradual loss of strength and skeletal muscle mass, which can lead to negative outcomes such as physical disability, poor quality of life, and death. The IN-TeMPO study (ItaliaN study with Tailored Multidomain interventions to Prevent functional and cognitive decline in community-dwelling Older adults, ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT06248723), in the frame of the AGE-it project, is a multicenter randomized controlled trial on community-dwelling older adults (age ≥ 60) at risk of dementia and mild to moderate frailty and aims to evaluate the impact of multidomain interventions (nutrition, exercise, cognitive training, and other health-promoting activities) on preventing functional and cognitive decline in older adults. A specific task co-led by University of Bari (UniBa) is to measure and validate blood biomarkers related to sarcopenia. In particular IL-6 and GDF-15 will be evaluated on the entire group of participants (n=1662), and of BDNF, IGF-1, irisin, and ghrelin on a N=100 subgroup before and after the intervention. Other biomarkers of cognitive decline will be measured if needed. To date, at Uniba about 40 patients have been enrolled and subjected to plasma collection for biomarker evaluation by means of multimode microplate readers. These experiments, in the framework of the multidisciplinary analyses of other aging-related biomarkers conducted across sites, will enhance stratification of patients for risk of cognitive and functional decline and help to assess the efficacy of multidomain interventions. (Supported: Ageing well in an ageing society - project ID N°PE0000015, CUP H33C22000680006).