MITOFUN represents a breakthrough in clinical and basic research on ageing, as it studies its impact on two longitudinal cohorts (studied for more than 6 years) of older people (ETES and ENRICA). This project targets elderly people in whom the most common form of chronic diseases is multimorbidity, which together with ageing signs themselves lead to functional impairment. Fragility and functional impairment may in turn be risk factors for ‘classic’ chronic conditions, as diabetes or ischemic heart disease. This suggests that both (functional impairment and ‘classic’ diseases) may be distinct manifestations of a bidirectional disorder: from disease to functional impairment or from functional impairment to disease.   

The FRESHAGE team from the University of Valencia-INCLIVA, has been studying the role of mitochondria in functional impairment related to ageing for more than 30 years. In this project, the valencian team cooperates with the University Hospital of Getafe (with Leocadio Rodríguez as the project coordinator) and with the Autonomous University of Madrid (with Fernando Rodríguez Artalejo as co-operator of the project).

MITOFUN will study how mitochondrial impairment (which leads to a collapse of several mechanisms that control energy production and use), manifested through the release of Damage Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs), increased oxidative stress or a low-grade pro-inflammatory state, and together with lifestyles (physical exercise and diet), contributes to the functional impairment related to chronic diseases and vice versa. To this end, the role of mitochondrial impairment in the association between ageing functional impairment and some comorbid chronic diseases and its modulation by lifestyles will be assessed.

Findings will provide a better understanding of the lack of energy in the elderly and how to avoid and postpone it. They will also help identify mechanisms to delay the onset of chronic diseases in older people.