Theme 4: Mechanism based Clinical Interventions for Sarcopenia Prevention and Treatment

Bringing MAGNET's discoveries into real-world patient care to enable earlier intervention, prevention and healthier ageing.

Theme Lead: Associate Professor Frederick Koh, SKH

Co-Leads:
Associate Professor Laura Tay, SKH
Associate Professor Samuel Chew, CGH
Dr Justin Chew, TTSH

Connecting Research with Patient Care

Theme 4 serves as the clinical foundation of the MAGNET programme, connecting research discoveries with real-world patient populations.

Over five years, the team aims to expand MAGNET's sarcopenia muscle and blood sample biorepository to 1,000 participants, providing high-quality biological samples and clinical information to support research across the programme.

Building the Clinical Foundation for MAGNET

Theme 4 aims to recruit and follow 1,000 participants over five years, creating a rich collection of muscle and blood samples alongside detailed clinical information. This resource will provide the clinical foundation for molecular discovery, biomarker development and therapeutic research across the MAGNET programme.

From Biomarkers to Better Detection

Testing discoveries in real-world populations.

Theme 4 will evaluate whether biomarkers identified through MAGNET can accurately distinguish between individuals with different levels of muscle health, particularly among independent, non-frail adults living in the community.

By following participants over time, researchers will also investigate whether these biomarkers can predict longer-term outcomes, including:

Physical Performance

Muscle Health

Quality of Life

Can We Prevent Sarcopenia Before It Progresses?

Testing an early intervention strategy.

Theme 4 will investigate whether combining HMB-enriched nutritional supplementation with progressive resistance exercise can improve muscle health over six months compared with standard care.

Bridging Discovery and Patient Care

Turning research into better care.

Through MAGNET's network of cohorts across Singapore, Theme 4 provides a platform to validate promising laboratory discoveries in real-world populations and evaluate their potential for clinical use.

By following community-dwelling, independent and non-frail adults over time, researchers aim to identify opportunities for earlier intervention and prevention, ultimately helping people maintain muscle health, physical function and independence as they age.