Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2025
MicroRNA Based Liquid Biopsy: The Experience of the Plasma miRNA Signature Classifier MSC for Lung Cancer Screening
Published on: October 26, 2017
Molecular Morbidity Score-Can MicroRNAs Assess the Burden of Disease?
Thomas Butler1, Matthew G Davey1, Michael J Kerin1,2
1Department of Surgery, Lambe Institute for Translational Research, University of Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland.
Abstract:
Multimorbidity refers to the presence of two or more chronic diseases and is associated with adverse outcomes for patients. Factors such as an ageing population have contributed to a rise in prevalence of multimorbidity globally; however, multimorbidity is often neglected in clinical guidelines. This is largely because patients with multimorbidity are systematically excluded from clinical trials. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop novel biomarkers and methods of prognostication for this cohort of patients. The hallmarks of ageing are now thought to potentiate the pathogenesis of multimorbidity. MicroRNAs are small, regulatory, noncoding RNAs which have been implicated in the pathogenesis and prognostication of numerous chronic diseases; there is a substantial body of evidence now implicating microRNA dysregulation with the different hallmarks of ageing in the aetiology of chronic diseases. This article proposes using the hallmarks of ageing as a framework to develop a panel of microRNAs to assess the prognostic burden of multimorbidity. This putative molecular morbidity score would have many potential applications, including assessing the efficacy of clinical interventions, informing clinical decision making and facilitating wider inclusion of patients with multimorbidity in clinical trials.
Insights
Multimorbidity, the presence of multiple chronic diseases, is rising globally. This study proposes using microRNAs and aging hallmarks to create a prognostic score for better patient care and clinical trial inclusion.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology and Molecular Biology
- Biomarker Discovery
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Multimorbidity, defined as two or more chronic diseases, is increasing due to factors like population aging.
- Clinical guidelines often neglect multimorbidity due to patient exclusion from trials.
- There is a critical need for new biomarkers and prognostication methods for patients with multimorbidity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel framework for assessing the prognostic burden of multimorbidity.
- To leverage the hallmarks of aging and microRNA dysregulation for prognostic evaluation.
- To develop a molecular morbidity score for improved clinical applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing the hallmarks of aging as a conceptual framework.
- Identifying and proposing a panel of microRNAs implicated in aging and chronic disease.
- Developing a microRNA-based molecular morbidity score.
Main Results:
- The proposed microRNA panel, guided by aging hallmarks, offers a novel approach to prognosticate multimorbidity.
- This molecular morbidity score has potential applications in assessing intervention efficacy and informing clinical decisions.
- The score could facilitate the inclusion of multimorbidity patients in clinical trials.
Conclusions:
- MicroRNA dysregulation, linked to aging hallmarks, plays a role in multimorbidity pathogenesis.
- A microRNA-based prognostic score offers a promising tool for managing multimorbidity.
- This approach addresses the current neglect of multimorbidity in clinical research and practice.
