Division of Gastroenterology (Liver Unit), Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Gastroenterology and Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Oncology, and Gastroenterology, Padova University Hospital, Italy.
J Hepatol. 2023 Jun;78(6):1105-1117. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.03.025.
Frailty is a decline in functional reserve across multiple physiological systems. A key component of frailty is sarcopenia, which denotes a loss of skeletal muscle mass and impaired contractile function that ultimately result in physical frailty. Physical frailty/sarcopenia are frequent and contribute to adverse clinical outcomes before and after liver transplantation. Frailty indices, including the liver frailty index, focus on contractile dysfunction (physical frailty), while cross-sectional image analysis of muscle area is the most accepted and reproducible measure to define sarcopenia. Thus, physical frailty and sarcopenia are interrelated. The prevalence of physical frailty/sarcopenia is high in liver transplant candidates and these conditions have been shown to adversely impact clinical outcomes including mortality, hospitalisations, infections, and cost of care both before and after transplantation. Data on the prevalence of frailty/sarcopenia and their sex- and age-dependent impact on outcomes are not consistent in patients on the liver transplant waitlist. Physical frailty and sarcopenic obesity are frequent in the obese patient with cirrhosis, and adversely affect outcomes after liver transplantation. Nutritional interventions and physical activity remain the mainstay of management before and after transplantation, despite limited data from large scale trials. In addition to physical frailty, there is recognition that a global evaluation including a multidisciplinary approach to other components of frailty (e.g., cognition, emotional, psychosocial) also need to be addressed in patients on the transplant waitlist. Recent advances in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of sarcopenia and contractile dysfunction have helped identify novel therapeutic targets.
虚弱是指多个生理系统的功能储备下降。虚弱的一个关键组成部分是肌肉减少症,它表示骨骼肌质量的丧失和收缩功能受损,最终导致身体虚弱。身体虚弱/肌肉减少症在肝移植前后很常见,并导致不良的临床结果。虚弱指数,包括肝虚弱指数,侧重于收缩功能障碍(身体虚弱),而肌肉面积的横截面图像分析是定义肌肉减少症的最被接受和可重复的测量方法。因此,身体虚弱和肌肉减少症是相互关联的。肝移植候选者中身体虚弱/肌肉减少症的患病率很高,这些情况已被证明对临床结果产生不利影响,包括死亡率、住院、感染和移植前后的护理成本。在肝移植等待名单上的患者中,关于虚弱/肌肉减少症的患病率及其对性别和年龄相关结果的影响的数据并不一致。肥胖的肝硬化患者中经常出现身体虚弱和肌肉减少性肥胖,这会对肝移植后的结果产生不利影响。尽管来自大型试验的数据有限,但营养干预和体育活动仍然是移植前后管理的主要方法。除了身体虚弱之外,人们还认识到,在移植等待名单上的患者中,还需要通过多学科方法对其他虚弱成分(例如认知、情感、社会心理)进行全面评估。最近我们对肌肉减少症和收缩功能障碍的潜在机制的理解的进展有助于确定新的治疗靶点。