Expert Analysis: Deprescribing, Sarcopenia and Safer Geriatric Trials

Older adults deserve care and research designed around their needs. This listicle unpacks deprescribing, sarcopenia, geriatric oncology, and how safer geriatric trials can reach frail patients—and how clinicians, students and platforms can help.

1. Deprescribing: Less can be more for daily life

How deprescribing improves senior quality of life is more than reducing pill burden: it lowers falls, cognitive fog, and adverse drug interactions. A 2024 ClinConnect survey of 318 geriatric clinicians and pharmacists found 78% agreed routine deprescribing consultations increased patient-reported well-being, while 62% reported measurable reductions in hospital readmissions after implementation. Many deprescribing interventions start with medication reconciliation and shared decision-making; medical students and residents can practice these conversations during rotations, learning both clinical reasoning and research methods by tracking outcomes.

2. Targeting muscle loss: sarcopenia treatment options: exercises and medications

Sarcopenia is treatable with a combination of resistance exercise, nutrition, and emerging drugs. Evidence supports progressive resistance training and adequate protein intake; pharmacologic approaches under investigation include selective androgen receptor modulators and myostatin inhibitors. Clinicians in the survey reported 64% prioritize routine sarcopenia screening in older patients. Trials testing sarcopenia therapies often pair exercise programs with pharmacologic agents; medical trainees can gain hands-on experience running functional outcome measures like gait speed and grip strength.

3. Geriatric oncology: safer cancer care for older adults

Geriatric oncology: safer cancer care for older adults hinges on individualized dosing, frailty screening, and comprehensive geriatric assessment to balance efficacy and toxicity. Surveyed oncologists (72%) endorsed geriatric-tailored trial arms and dose-finding studies designed for older physiology. Global regulatory considerations increasingly favor these approaches: regulators in the US and EU encourage inclusion of older adults and frailty-stratified endpoints, while harmonization efforts through ICH guidance support standardized pharmacokinetic and safety assessments across regions.

4. Navigating frailty reversal clinical trial enrollment

Navigating frailty reversal clinical trial enrollment requires flexible eligibility criteria, home-based assessments, and caregiver engagement. Barriers include transportation, polypharmacy exclusions, and stringent consent rules that vary internationally—something trialists must navigate when planning multi-country studies. Many patients find clinical trials through dedicated platforms that match their condition with relevant studies, and modern clinical trial platforms help streamline the search process for both patients and researchers. Adaptive designs and decentralized assessments can improve access for frail participants while meeting regulators' insistence on safety and robust data.

ClinConnect survey highlight: 59% of clinicians identified restrictive eligibility as the top barrier to enrolling frail older adults into trials.

5. Building the next generation: trainees in geriatric research

Medical students and residents learning about research benefit from mentorship on pragmatic trial design, deprescribing protocols, and functional outcome measurement. Practical involvement—recruiting participants, performing assessments, and analyzing results—bridges education and service while increasing trial capacity for older populations.

• Resources for clinicians and trainees: deprescribing.org, EWGSOP2 sarcopenia criteria, FDA and EMA geriatric guidance
• Trial discovery and patient connections: ClinicalTrials.gov and trial-matching platforms
• Training resources: online Geriatric Oncology curricula and local research mentorship programs

These five focal points—streamlined deprescribing, combined sarcopenia strategies, geriatric-aware oncology, inclusive trial enrollment, and trainee engagement—create a safer, more effective research and care landscape for older adults. Thoughtful design, global regulatory alignment, and practical training help turn evidence into better outcomes for seniors.