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The closing ceremony of the FRAILOMIC project took place in Madrid on June 18, 2018

Laste 18, the Deputy Minister of Humanization of the Sanitary Assistance of the Community of Madrid, Diego Sanjuanbenito, has closed the Closing Meeting of the FRAILOMIC Project, coordinated by the Geriatrics team of the Universitary Hospital of Getafe, which has involved 27 institutions from 7 countries of the European Union (EU) and WHO with the aim of improving the ability to detect and predict frailty, which is the main risk factor for the development of disability in the elderly.  Currently, it is considered that frailty is the main element on which health authorities can act to promote a healthy aging of the population.

The FRAILOMIC initiative is a large scale research project aiming to identify the factors that turn frailty into disability.

The anticipated rise in the number of older people this century will inevitably be accompanied by an increase in the number of people with disabilities. Frailty, which comprises changes associated with ageing and chronic disease, usually precedes disability. Detecting frailty and intervening before it becomes disabling is more and more necessary as the population ages. Testing the clinical utility of the existing definition of frailty using a combination of clinical and laboratory biomarkers is pivotal.

The FRAILOMIC initiative is designed to use biomarkers to determine the factors that turn frailty into disability. The main objective is to develop clinical instruments to predict the risk of frailty, improve the diagnostic accuracy of frailty in day-to-day practice, and to assess the prognosis of frailty in terms of disability and other adverse outcomes.

The preliminary findings of the FRAILOMIC study indicate that health professionals and researchers will be able to have a “set” of indicators (data on the state of health) in the near future that will allow them to identify the elderly at risk of suffering disability. From here, treatments and preventive measures can be implemented to avoid, delay or limit the loss of functionality (ability to perform daily tasks such as walking, cooking, going out to buy, etc.).
According to the study, a series of indicators or health data related to inflammation,  genetics and metabolism that are associated with frailty have been identified. This will allow the development and implementation of tools (analysis, scales, etc.) to measure this risk in the medical consultation.

LEADER IN EUROPEAN FRAILTY PROJECTS
Dr. Rodríguez Mañas, through the Geriatrics Service and the Biomedical Research Foundation of the University Hospital of Getafe, currently leads 3 important European research projects on frailty and the prevention of dependence in elderly patients (Frailclinic, Frailomic and Frailtools), financed by the EU with more than 19 million euros and involving 25 groups from 9 European countries and the WHO, having as main objectives the knowledge of the mechanisms of frailty in the elderly and the discovery of treatments that allow to reverse the state of fragility, avoiding or reducing disability. Also within the Area of ​​Aging, the University Hospital of Getafe participates as a partner in four other research projects (Sprintt, Acanto, Deci and Facet) that have 2.1 million euros of EU funding. It also coordinates the Center for Biomedical Research in Network on Healthy Fragility and Aging (CIBERfes), within the CIBER consortium of the Carlos III Health Institute. The Community of Madrid (Ministry of Health-Getafe Hospital) currently coordinates, by delegation of the Ministry of Health, and through the group of Dr. Rodríguez Mañas, the European Joint Action on Frailty Prevention in the Elderly, which aims to build a strategic framework for the preventive approach of this issue at a European level and favor collaboration between the States to help solve public health problems.

The closing event of FRAILCLINIC project will be held in Madrid on March 13-14, 2018

The closing event of FRAILCLINIC project (“Feasibility and effectiveness of the implementation of programs to screen and manage frail older patients in different clinical settings”) will be held in Madrid on March 13-14, 2018.
  • FRAILCLINIC is a study co-funded by DG SANCO within the framework of the 2nd Health Programme of the European Union (2008-2013)
  • As part of the closing event, a round table with experts on the topic “The challenge of avoiding disability: Tackling Frailty in clinical settings” will take place.

The main objective of the study consisted in assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of programs designed to detect and manage frail older patients in high risk clinical settings (cardiology, oncology / oncohaematology, nephrology, general surgery, urology, cardiac surgery and emergency rooms) in order to avoid functional decline and other frailty-associated adverse outcomes such as falls, delirium, prolonged hospital stay, readmission or death, which increase healthcare costs.

The study’s budget was 4.6 million EUR (co-funded by the European Commission, Second Health Programme) and has been implemented in two consecutive phases (observation and intervention) involving three countries and seven hospitals:

  •  Spain: Hospital Universitario de Getafe and Hospital Clínico San Carlos in Madrid and Hospital Monte Naranco in Asturias
  • Italy: Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli and Ospedale San Rafaelle, both in Rome
  • United Kingdom: Hospitals at Luton and Birmingham

The Intervention Phase evaluated, after randomisation, the effectiveness of implementing a programme of multidisciplinary geriatric intervention to treat and manage frail older patients in these clinical settings. A telephone follow-up was carried out  3 months and 12 months after the patient was discharged, to assess functional decline, disability, institutionalization, visits to the emergency room, hospitalization and death. The findings of the FRAILCLINIC study will allow to create algorithms for diagnosis and treatment of frail older people to be used in routine clinical practice with patients admitted into different clinical settings.

Experts from academia and public healthcare institutions will participate in the round table taking place on March 14th. This round table intends to contextualize this project’s findings and their potential use for improving the healthcare system, having in mind not only the patient’s well-being but cost-benefit aspects which are key to implement new clinical practices in public health systems.

The round table will be followed by a press conference.

Meeting Agenda

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More information at: http://www.frailclinic.eu/
Logo Twitter@frailclinic

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Annual Scientific Report 2016

As has been our tradition, we are happy to present the Scientific Report of the
Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Universitario de Getafe.

This report is the result of a collective effort made by all the investigators and institutions that make up the Institute. It reflects the energy that goes into the biomedical research carried out here in Getafe.

The visibility and dissemination of our research activity are fundamental, since they enable us to showcase our progress during the year 2016. The publication of our results is also a clear recognition of the work of the entire scientific community at Hospital Universitario de Getafe.

The scientific output of our Institute is very high in terms of the number of researchers, whose extensive career is well acknowledged by the international scientific community.

Our capacity for growth in R+D+i is obvious owing to collaboration with other public and private scientific platforms within key research areas such as aging, intensive care, critical burns, ENT, cardiology, traumatology, cell therapy, and promotion of health and physical activity.

Once again, we have shown ourselves to be recognized leaders in research on aging, both internationally, through our involvement in nine research projects as coordinators and members, and nationally, through the coordination of the new Biomedical Research Center on Fragility and Healthy Ageing (CIBERFES) of the ISCIII under the direction of Dr. Leocadio Rodríguez Mañas.

Our yearly scientific meetings aim to promote research and innovation among the professionals at our center, particularly among the new generations of researchers, who should take on this challenge with the help of their mentors.

The year 2016 was one in which the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Universitario Getafe maintained its commitment to innovation to ensure continuous improvement. The incorporation of the Institute into the Platform of Innovation in Medical and Health Care Technologies (ITEMAS in Spanish) aims to reinforce and strengthen the R+D+i activities of Hospital Universitario de Getafe in such a way that knowledge can be transferred and converted into processes, products, and services that bring new benefits to society.

This year represents the initial stage in the consolidation of a series of changes in the Institute, changes leading to a stable alliance that equips all our professionals to face new challenges.

Thus, our annual Scientific Report is a summary of the effort made during the year 2016, which has not only enhanced our prestige, but has also paved the way for an ambitious and, we hope, fruitful future.

The Advantage JA State of the Art Report

Supporting Policy on Frailty Preventions and Managemente in the EU– The  ADVANTAGE JA State of the Art Report.

Demographic ageing is one of the most serious challenges that Europe is currently facing. Older people are at greatest risk of becoming frail and developing disability, which will ultimately impact on the wellbeing of the individuals and on the sustainability of healthcare systems. However, frailty is not an inevitable consequence of ageing, it can be prevented and treated to foster a longer and healthier life. To this end, the Joint Action (JA) ADVANTAGE, has prepared  the State of the Art on Frailty Report, which will support frailty as a public health priority and inform future planning of frailty prevention and management.

The findings presented in the State of the Art on Frailty Report are the result of scientific evidence elaborated by the ADVANTAGE JA partners and discussed with a Panel of Experts in order to produce a common conceptual framework for further work and for future social-health policy recommendations. The document answers key questions to best address frailty:

  • what is frailty?
  • why is it a public health problem?
  • what is the relationship with chronic diseases?
  • how can frailty be prevented?
  • how should health care and social systems adapt to address frail patients?.

 

The report covers different areas of interest:

  • Frailty definition. Relationship of frailty with chronic diseases and multi-morbidity. Individual screening and diagnosis;
  • Epidemiology. Population screening, monitoring and surveillance;
  • Prevention. Clinical management and treatment (including nutrition, physical activity, drugs and ICTs);
  • Health and social care models for frailty management;
  • Education/training of the workforce. Research.

The key messages are grounded in scientific knowledge and acknowledge the heterogeneity of the Member States health and social care systems in a scenario of demographic change and economic constraints across the EU. These messages will be an instrument of added value to advocate for policy driven decisions on frailty prevention and management in the JA participating Member States and subsequently towards a reduction of disability in the older population in Europe.

Further information and the specific reports are available at the JA website www.advantageja.eu

 

For more information, please contact: info@advantageja.eu

 

The ISCIII presents the Health Research and Development Strategy 2018

The Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) will present the 2018 Call of the Health Research and Development Strategy (AES) to the science community on 18 January in Madrid and on 24 January in Barcelona.

The event will be inaugurated by Jesús F. Crespo, Director of the ISCIII and will include the interventions of the following members of the ISCIII: Belén Bornstein Sánchez, Deputy Director General of Evaluation and Promotion of Research; Álvaro Roldán López, Deputy Assistant Director General of Evaluation and Promotion of Research; Alfonso Beltrán García-Echaniz. Deputy Director General of International Programs of Research and Institutional Relations and Margarita Blázquez Deputy Director General of Networks and Cooperative Research Centers that will present the main novelties of this call.

The AES is promoted by the ISCIII, under the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and is the main public funding tool for R & D & I in the field of translational research in biomedicine and promotion of its research activity.

Main objective is to contribute to promoting the health and well-being of citizens, as well as to develop the preventive, diagnostic, curative, rehabilitative and palliative aspects of the disease, strengthening and increasing the international competitiveness of the National System’s R + D + i of health.

To achieve these objectives, the AES promotes different actions for training the recruitment and mobility of doctors and researchers; strengthening of the structures of the R & D & i in network and development of research projects in Health, that favor the transfer of knowledge to the National Health System (SNS) and that promote the internationalization of the Spanish research groups.

On the other hand, the ISCIII participates in the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, “A way of making Europe”, through which various actions of the AES can be co-financed.