Skin microbiome of Japanese elderly in relation to the onset of pressure ulcers

It is widely known that Japan is in a "super-aging" society; one in four is older than 65 years old. One of the most prevalence and challenging problems for elderly in Japan is the onset of pressure ulcers (PU) during being cared in hospitals and/or their home. Infections after PU development is also the problem. Our team has been devoted to clarify the nature of PU onset and deterioration, focusing on the dysbiosis of skin. This study is aiming to discover how differently elderly people in Japan harbor skin microbiome in comparison with young and healthy elderly people.

众所周知，日本正处于“超老龄化”社会，每四位国民中便有一人年龄超过65岁。日本老年人面临的最为普遍且棘手的照护相关问题之一，便是在医院或居家照护期间发生压疮（pressure ulcers, PU），压疮继发感染亦是此类场景中的常见难题。本研究团队长期致力于阐明压疮发生与恶化的病理本质，重点聚焦于皮肤微生态失衡（dysbiosis of skin）。本研究旨在探究日本老年人群的皮肤微生物组（skin microbiome）定植特征，与年轻健康人群及健康老年人群的皮肤微生物组存在何种差异。