
Impact of Hand Grip Strength on Length of Hospital Stay After Cardiac Surgery Among Elderly Patients...
SarcopeniaFrailtyHand grip strength has been shown to be a predictor of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the elderly population. This study aims to investigate whether measurement of hand grip strength could be used as a predictor of prolonged hospital stay after cardiac surgery in elderly patients.

An Investigation of Frailty Markers and Outcomes in Patients Requiring Emergency Laparotomy
FrailtySurgery1 moreOver 30,000 emergency abdominal operations (laparotomy, EmLAP) are performed in the UK annually and they are usually performed in adults over the age of 65. As such, it can be a risky operation with high chance of developing complications, including death, especially if there is frailty before the operation. Such patients are much more susceptible to infections or to have complications, such as wound breakdown, because of poor healing. Whilst some patients might be frail from the outset, surgery can cause patients to become frail ('surgical frailty'). This can happen in all age groups, not just the elderly and is not uncommon after an EmLap. This study aims to establish blood tests (biomarkers) associated with frailty, explore the ability of frailty markers measured before EmLAP to predict death after EmLAP, define changes in frailty in EmLAP patients and analyse the influence of frailty on quality of life post EmLAP. Over 2 years, 150 patients age ≥40 undergoing EmLAP in a hospital will be recruited and followed up for 90 days looking at different frailty markers. These include (a)blood tests (biomarkers) analysed in a special laboratory machine called mass spectrometer to identify chemical markers linked to frailty status (b)CT scan looking at muscle bulk (sarcopenia) (c)Rockwood Clinical Frailty Score, a scoring system assessing how much a patient can do (1 is fit; 9 is extremely frail). The investigators hope that these results will improve our understanding of frailty and lead to further research to improve outcomes for EmLAP patients.

Vitamin D Deficiency and Body Composition in the Patients With Hemophilia
Vitamin D DeficiencySarcopenia4 moreHemophilia is associated with osteoporosis and increased prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD). Many clinical risk factors have been reported, such as hemophilic arthropathy, reduced physical activity, decreased sun exposure, hepatitis C virus infections, vitamin D deficiency, and low body mass index (BMI). There is no data on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and low BMD in hemophilia patients in Taiwan or Asia. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have reported the prevalence of sarcopenia and correlation with osteoporosis in hemophilia adult patients. The purpose of this study will evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, low BMD, sarcopenia and body composition in a cohort of patients with hemophilia in Taiwan.

Lung Cancer Surgery in Sarcopenia Patients With Old Age
SarcopeniaLung CancerThe presence of sarcopenia before lung resection surgery might be an important factor of short-term and long-term prognosis in lung cancer patients. Through this study, investigators plan to demonstrate evidence whether sarcopenia is a useful clinical biomarker for risk stratification in elderly patients undergoing lung cancer surgery.

Chronic Kidney Disease-related Sarcopenia With Poor Prognosis
Chronic Kidney DiseasesSarcopeniaChronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a global public health priority over the past few decades, affecting 10-12% of the adult population and has received increasing attention. Sarcopenia describes a generalizes degenerative skeletal muscle disorder involving the loss of muscle mass, muscle function and/or physical performance. Indeed, Sarcopenia is a condition with many causes and it can be considered "primary sarcopenia" when no other cause is evident but ageing. While in the clinical practice, it also occurs in patients with chronic diseases, such as chronic kidney disease, which can be considered "secondary sarcopenia". Notably, the occurrence of sarcopenia in CKD patients is not only related with ageing, the accumulation of uremic toxins, inflammation, insulin resistance, malnutrition and oxidative stress also contribute to the muscle depletion. Moreover, sarcopenia increased risk of falls and fractures, impaired ability to perform activities of daily living, disabilities, loss of independence and increased risk of death. Hence, it is of great significance to prevent the occurrence and development of sarcopenia in patients with CKD. The purposes of this project were to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia, further explore the risk factors for sarcopenia and detect the relationship between sarcopenia and outcomes in CKD patients.

Evaluation of the Sarcopenia in Hepatobiliary Surgery
SarcopeniaHepatobiliary Disease2 moreThe sarcopenia is defined as a loss of muscle mass and a loss of muscle function ( strength or performance). Some studies showed that the sarcopenia increase the postoperative complications and the overall survival in abdominal surgery. But the sarcopenia is not evaluated in the Hepatobiliary surgery. This prospective, monconcentrique study aim to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia, and its associated morbimortality in hepatobiliary surgery for malignant or benign tumors.

Sternocleidomastoid Thickness in Sarcopenia
SarcopeniaIn order to prevent sarcopenia in intensive care patients and to guide nutritional therapy, evaluation of muscle thickness with ultrasonography is a modern, simple and non-invasive procedure routinely performed by Anesthesiology and Reanimation specialists. Sarcopenia in intensive care patients has been demonstrated in many studies. It has been studied that routine examination of changes in rectus femoris muscle thickness by ultrasonography is a predictor of sarcopenia. However, the muscles in the neck region, such as the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which are easy to examine, have not been studied very well. There is no study in the literature with the sternocleidomastoid muscle. For this reason, we decided to examine the relationship of sternocleidomastoid muscle thickness with patient characteristics, treatments, feeding route and type, feeding time, length of stay in intensive care unit, as in routine measurements of rectus femoris muscle thickness by ultrasonography.

Mechanism of Sarcopenia in Heart Failure
Heart FailureSarcopenia1 moreThe aim of the study is to provide information on the interaction between socioeconomic factors, daily physical activity, nutrition and lifestyle on loss of muscle mass and muscle function in patients with heart failure.

Diabetes, Falls, and Fractures
Diabetic Peripheral NeuropathyDiabetes7 moreComparing severity of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (small and large fibers including autonomic neuroapthy) to postural control and vestibular measurements

Sarcopenia and Short Bowel Syndrome
Short Bowel SyndromeSarcopenia or the loss of skeletal muscle is highly prevalent in many diseases, including short bowel syndrome (SBS). While adaptation is more likely in SBS patients with a colon-in-continuity, the consequences and underlying mechanisms are unclear. An overabundance of fecal Lactobacillus was found but not yet linked to adaptation or sarcopenia. The objectives are to study the evolution of sarcopenia and the link with intestinal adaptation in SBS.