2012 has been a very busy year for the MID-Frail partners and the study consortium has undergone some significant changes. CAIBER has left the consortium and the tasks for which they were responsible are in the process of being assumed by other partners (SERMAS, IDOP and, from January 2013, Niche Science & Technology Ltd). Everyone involved in MID-Frail owe a debt of gratitude to those at CAIBER, in particular María Sanchiz, for her invaluable contributions to the development of the project.

The changes to the consortium and associated new task distribution have been presented to the EU Commission as an amendment. It is hoped these will be accepted in the next 1–2 months and that the necessary budget transfers are granted speedily, to avoid any significant impact on the project. You can read more about developments in the latest newsletter [1].

The MID-Frail protocol has been finalised and the study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. The entry details the various sub-studies involved in the project:

• GENEFRAIL: this sub-study aims to determine the polymorphisms of several genes associated to frailty, in order to establish its predictive value for developing disability and response to treatment as well
• METABOFRAIL: this sub-study aims to investigate the metabolomic profile of frail and pre-frail patients.
• SARTRAIN: the combination of the assessment tools used in SARTRAIN (ARFI US, MRI, posturographic measurements) will provide a comprehensive study of the structural and functional characteristics of muscle and adjacent tissues and their change with time and the intervention.
• MID- POW: this sub-study aims to investigate changes in muscle power.

The project also include an randomized controlled ancillary study: SENSOLE for which the aim is to investigate the potential effects of vibrating insoles device on gait and posture.

Our vision is to advance the impact of ageing research in meeting current and emerging challenges. More information can be found at the MID‐Frail homepage [2].

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