Stem cells provide a potent treatment for frailty

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- NEWS

- 25 February 2026

Stem cells provide a potent treatment for frailty

Elderly people with frailty, which affects up to one-quarter of over-50s, increased their endurance after a single dose of stem cells.

Edward Chen

Edward Chen

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[Image: An elderly man crosses the street in Manhattan in front of iconic yellow taxi cabs, with a cane.]

People with frailty often struggle to walk long distances. Credit: Victoria Phipps/Getty

A single dose of stem cells can help older people with frailty to build up their endurance, a study finds1. The study’s authors say that the results offer the strongest evidence so far for an effective treatment for frailty, which affects as many as one-quarter of people aged 50 or older2.

“For the first time, you have a treatment that targets accelerated ageing,” which can manifest as frailty, says Jorge Ruiz, a study author and geriatrician at Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Florida.

Debilitating condition

There is no single accepted definition of frailty. But researchers generally agree that people with the condition have lower physical endurance and a higher risk of dying compared with others of the same age. They also take longer to recover from events such as a fall.

Because frailty describes a set of physical symptoms that do not share a single molecular cause, relatively few research groups have tried to develop treatments specific to the condition.

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[Original source](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00584-y)