Conditions: Frailty Syndrome
Keywords: Frailty Sarcopenia Weight Loss Exercise Aging Ghrelin Elderly
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 16
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Frailty is a geriatric syndrome leading to physical deterioration including muscle wasting (sarcopenia) and unintentional weight loss. There are currently no approved therapies for frailty. Ghrelin is a hormone produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite centers in the brain. The investigators already know that a single dose of Ghrelin improves food intake immediately after the dose in frail older people. In addition, exercise programs have been shown to improve strength and function in older people. In this study, the investigators are trying to find out if a joint intervention of ghrelin and resistance training will improve walking, balance and leg strength in frail elderly people.

Detailed description:

Arms:
arm 1: Ghrelin 7.5 mcg/kg as a once daily subcutaneous dose for 12 weeks plus resistance training arm 2: Placebo as a once daily subcutaneous dose for 12 weeks plus resistance training

Interventions: intervention 1: Ghrelin intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Ghrelin intervention 2: Saline will be used as a placebo

Protocol document: