CCBAR
Newsletter
– December,
2012
Editors:
Natalia
Gavrilova
and
Stacy
Tessler
Lindau
CCBAR Q & A
Q: What is the reliability of DBS HbA1c measurement versus venous specimen analyzed under clinical conditions?
A:
Studies showed that DBS collection method provides
accurate, robust, and reproducible measurement of Hb A(1c). Therefore,
dried blood spot samples represent an alternative to whole blood for
HbA1c by measurement when transporting whole blood is not feasible. The
specific assays used are not uniform and may differ from one lab to
another.
Literature
Jones, T.G., Warber, K.D., Roberts, B.D. 2010. Analysis of hemoglobin A1c from dried blood spot samples with the Tina-quantR II immunoturbidimetric method.
Journal of diabetes science and technology, 2010: 4(2),244-9
Egier, DA, Keys, JL, Hall, SK, McQueen, MJ. Measurement of Hemoglobin A(1c) from Filter Papers for Population-Based Studies,
Clinical Chemistry, 2011, 57(4), 577-585
CCBAR
News
Natalia
Gavrilova participated in the conference "Determinants of Unusual and
Differential Longevity," organized by the Vienna Institute of
Demography in November 21-23, 2012 in Vienna, Austria. Together with
Leonid Gavrilov, she presented an opening session lecture on
"Determinants of exceptional human longevity: new ideas and findings."
More information about the conference, including participants’
presentations, can be found at the conference website.
News
from
the NEJM, Nature Journals, Science, BMJ, PNAS, Lancet and JAMA
Global
survey reveals impact of disability
by Declan Butler
Study tracks changes in life expectancy and health burdens.
The
True Cost of Risky Behavior
by Mark Fischetti
Consequences of good and bad health habits are boiled down to 30-minute
slices of your life
Translating
genes into health
by Larry J Kricka, Chiara Di Resta
A major challenge for genomics is to provide clinical benefits to the
genetically diverse human population. Genome science has achieved a
catalog of mutations and informative SNPs. Next-generation sequencing
is rapidly delivering thousands of complete human genomes, but
understanding and applying ge...
Plasmonic
ELISA for the ultrasensitive detection of disease biomarkers with t...
by Roberto de la RicaMolly, M. Stevens
A new signal generation mechanism based on the growth of gold
nanoparticles offers a way to detect ultralow concentrations of
analytes with the naked eye.
Human
epigenetics: Showing your age
by Darren J. Burgess
Characterizing the molecular features of ageing is key for
understanding the mechanisms of normal and premature ageing, and has
applications such as predicting the age of an individual from a
forensic sample. A new study has characterized the DNA methylomes of
large cohorts of humans
The
nature of confounding in genome-wide association studies
by Bjarni J. Vilhjįlmsson, Magnus Nordborg
The authors argue that population structure per se is not a problem in
genome-wide association studies ? the true sources are the environment
and the genetic background, and the latter is greatly underappreciated.
They conclude that mixed models effectively address this issue.
Learning
and memory: Stressful pathways to memory
by Darran Yates
This study shows that stress-induced glucocorticoid signalling acts
rapidly through various signalling pathways to promote memory
consolidation.
Pharmacotherapy:
Benefits of menopausal hormone therapy - timing is key
by Andrea R. Genazzani, Tommaso Simoncini
A large Danish study overturns the concept that postmenopausal hormone
replacement therapy increases the risk of experiencing cardiovascular
events. Indeed, the study shows that such therapy decreases the risk of
myocardial infarction by 50% and mortality by 40%. So
what is the
truth?
Psychological
bias drives cultural evolution [Biological Sciences]
by Claidiere, N., Kirby, S., Sperber, D.
MacCallum et al. used an innovative Darwinian method to
demonstrate
the importance of consumers' preferences in shaping the evolution of
music, a fact that has often been overlooked and deserved attention.
Their experimental design, however, emphasizes the role of selection at
the expense of oth...
Psychological
bias in cultural evolution [Biological Sciences]
by Leroi, A. M., MacCallum, R. M., Mauch, M., Burt, A.
We showed that it is possible to produce music by a Darwinian process
in which consumers select particular tunes over others. Our
objective was to isolate the role of one element of the evolutionary
process: consumer selection. In our system, heritable variation was
generated by a computer algor...
Vitamin
D and tuberculosis [Biological Sciences]
by Grey, A., Bolland, M.
Coussens et al. reported an analysis of markers of immune and
inflammatory response in a subset of participants from a randomized
clinical trial of vitamin D3 supplementation in culture-positive
pulmonary tuberculosis. In that trial, the vitamin D intervention
did not alter the primary endpoint,...
Perceptions
of trust [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences]
by Castle, E., Eisenberger, N. I., Seeman, T. E., Moons, W.
G., Boggero, I. A., Grinblatt, M. S., Taylor, S. E.
Older adults are disproportionately vulnerable to fraud, and federal
agencies have speculated that excessive trust explains their greater
vulnerability. Two studies, one behavioral and one using neuroimaging
methodology, identified age differences in trust and their neural
underpinnings. Older and y...
Agencies
method in experiments [Economic Sciences]
by Nash, J. F., Nagel, R., Ockenfels, A., Selten, R.
In society, power is often transferred to another person or group. A
previous work studied the evolution of cooperation among robot players
through a coalition formation game with a non-cooperative procedure of
acceptance of an agency of another player. Motivated by this previous
work, we conduct a ...
Rejection
of unfair offers in the ultimatum game [Psychological and Cognitive...
by Yamagishi, T., Horita, Y., Mifune, N., Hashimoto, H., Li,
Y.,
Shinada, M., Miura, A., Inukai, K., Takagishi, H., Simunovic, D.
The strong reciprocity model of the evolution of human cooperation has
gained some acceptance, partly on the basis of support from
experimental findings. The observation that unfair offers in the
ultimatum game are frequently rejected constitutes an important piece
of the experimental evidence for s...
Distance
correlation and SS-ANOVA [Statistics]
by Kong, J., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R., Lee, K. E., Wahba, G.
We present a method for examining mortality as it is seen to run in
families, and lifestyle factors that are also seen to run in families,
in a subpopulation of the Beaver Dam Eye Study. We observe that
pairwise distance between death age in related persons is on average
less...
Early
adversity and immune system gene expression [Medical Sciences]
by Cole, S. W., Conti, G., Arevalo, J. M. G., Ruggiero, A. M.,
Heckman, J. J., Suomi, S. J.
To identify molecular mechanisms by which early life social conditions
might influence adult risk of disease in rhesus macaques (Macaca
mulatta), we analyze changes in basal leukocyte gene expression
profiles in 4-mo-old animals reared under adverse social conditions.
Compared with the basal conditi...
A
copyright-free alternative to the mini-mental state examination is
needed
by Seshadri, M., Mazi-Kotwal, N.
With elderly people being the fastest increasing subgroup of the
population in most developed countries, the prevalence of dementia will
increase exponentially. Early diagnosis and support will improve
quality of life and reduce financial costs to the state.Folstein's
mini-mental state examinatio...
Mortality
and Access to Care after Medicaid Expansions
New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 367, Issue 25, Page 2453-2454,
December 2012.
Prevalence
of and Risk Factors for Autopsy-Determined Atherosclerosis Among U...
by Webber BJ, Seguin PG, Burnett DG, et al.
Autopsies of US
service members
killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars demonstrated that atherosclerotic
changes in the coronary arteries can appear early in the second and
third decades of life, long before ischemic heart disease becomes
clinically apparent.Objective: To estimate the current pr...
Comparison of Novel Risk Markers for Improvement in Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Intermediate-Risk Individuals
by Joseph Yeboah, Robyn L.McClelland, Tamar S. Polonsky, et al.
We
compared improvement in prediction of incident CHD/cardiovascular
disease (CVD) of ... 6 risk markers within intermediate-risk
participants (FRS >5%-<20%) in the Multi-Ethnic Study of
Atherosclerosis (MESA).
Markers
for Prediction of Cardiovascular Disease Risk
by Kavousi M, Leening MG, Witteman JM.
To the Editor: The article
by Dr Yeboah
and colleagues compared the ability of several risk markers to improve
prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease
(CVD) among individuals at intermediate risk. The authors reported that
coronary artery calcium (CAC) provided superior...
Markers
for Prediction of Cardiovascular Disease Risk - Reply
by Yeboah J, Greenland P, Herrington DM.
In Reply: Our study showed
the
superiority of CAC for improving discrimination for incident CHD and
CVD in individuals classified as intermediate risk by the Framingham
risk score. We agree with Dr Kavousi and colleagues that contemporary
CHD risk prediction models such as the Framingham risk score ...
Trends
in the Prevalence of Extreme Obesity Among US Preschool-Aged Children
...
by Pan L, Blanck HM, Sherry B, et al.
To the Editor: Obesity and
extreme
obesity in childhood, which are more prevalent among minority and
low-income families, have been associated with other cardiovascular
risk factors, increased health care costs, and premature death. Obesity
and extreme obesity during early childhood are likely to co...
QuickStats:
Percentage of Men Aged 25-64 Years With Activity Limitation, by A...
Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report
Prevalence
of Nonrefractive Visual Impairment in US Adults and Associated Ris...
by Ko F, Vitale S, Chou C, et al.
Over the past decade,
chronic
illnesses with ophthalmic sequelae such as diabetes and diabetic
retinopathy have increased. Objectives: To estimate prevalence of
nonrefractive visual impairment and to describe its relationship with
demographic and systemic risk factors including diagnosed diabete...
Biomarkers
and
Aging
in
the
News
Media
•
Top
ten Christmas health risks
Fergus Walsh asks: what should you do to have a healthy Christmas?
• Diet
plans may lower diabetes risk
It's one thing to find a strategy that works in the lab, but quite
another to prove that it's effective in the real world as well.
•
Fruits,
Veggies Tied to Lower Breast Cancer Risk
Women now have one more reason to eat their fruits and veggies.
• Healthy
Diet Helps Damaged Hearts
A new study shows older people with heart disease who ate the most
heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts had a
much lower risk of dying or having a repeat heart attack or stroke than
those who ate the unhealthiest diet.
• B.M.I.
Found to Be Good Predictor of Risks
For certain health problems, body mass index, derived from the ratio of
height to weight, is the best overall predictor, a new study says.
•
Obesity,
Diabetes Holding Back Heart Health Improvement in US, Report Says
Poor eating habits and low levels of physical activity are damaging
health of millions of Americans.
'•
Autopsy-based
study examines prevalence of atherosclerosis among U.S. service...
Among deployed U.S. service members who died of combat or unintentional
injuries between 2001-2011 and underwent autopsies, the prevalence of
coronary atherosclerosis was 8.5 percent, with factors associated with
a higher prevalence of the disease including older age, lower
educational level and prior diagnoses of dyslipidemia, hypertension,
and obesity, according to a new study.
•
Regular
Aspirin Use May Boost Eye Problem Risk
Taking aspirin regularly appears to slightly raise the risk of the eye
condition known as age-related macular degeneration or AMD, new
research suggests.
•
Coffee
May Lower Risk of Dying From Oral Cancers
Heavy coffee drinkers -- those who drink more than four cups a day
--
may cut their risk of dying from cancers of the mouth and throat by
nearly half, according to new research.
• Excessive
protein synthesis linked to autistic-like behaviors, neuroscientist...
Autistic-like behaviors can be partially remedied by normalizing
excessive levels of protein synthesis in the brain, a team of
researchers has found in a study of laboratory mice. The findings
provide a pathway to the creation of pharmaceuticals aimed at treating
autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that are associated with diminished
social interaction skills, impaired communication ability, and
repetitive behaviors.
•
Blood
test for autism in early stages
Earlier detection of autism, relying on markers in the blood, may help
more children to take advantage of helpful behavioral therapies.
•
Spinal
Fluid Chemical Levels Linked to Suicidal Behavior
For the first time, researchers have found that a chemical in the brain
called glutamate is linked to suicidal behavior.
•
Smoking
Doubles Women's Sudden Death Risk
Smoking cigarettes may more than double a woman's risk of sudden
cardiac death. But quitting can reduce that risk significantly over
time, according to a new study.
•
Stress
May Be as Bad for Your Heart as Smoking Five Cigarettes a Day
A study has found that stress can elevate your risk of a heart attack
by 27 percent - the equivalent of smoking five cigarettes each day.
•
Distress
Tied to Higher Risk of Stroke
Older adults with high levels of distress are more likely to have
certain kinds of strokes than those who aren't as troubled, a new study
shows.
•
Elevated
levels of C-reactive protein appear associated with psychological di...
Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammatory
disease, appear to be associated with increased risk of psychological
distress and depression in the general population of adults in Denmark,
according to a new study.
•
Feeling
Down Triples the Risk of Dying From Stroke in Older Adults
Feeling down triples the risk of death from stroke in older people, a
new study suggests.
•
Feeling
Lonely Ups Risk for Dementia by 64 Percent
A new research suggests that another factor should be added to the list
of the risk factors for dementia: loneliness.
•
In-laws
may be tied to divorce risk
Whether you adore your partner's parents or barely tolerate your
in-laws, your rapport with them can have lasting effects on your own
romantic relationship.
•
Boosted
Protein May Protect Against Cancer, Aging, Turns Mice Into Mini Olymp...
Scientists believe that they have discovered a protein that protects
against both cancer and aging.
• Survival
of the females: Horse embryo study provides important new information
It is well known that many mammals are able to adjust the ratio of male
and female young depending on the surrounding conditions at the time of
conception. A recent study provides important information on how the
survival of female embryos may be enhanced under conditions that would
otherwise favor the birth of males.
• Waiting
to Have Kids Lowers Women's Risk for Aggressive Breast Cancer
There has been a lot of ink spent in recent weeks about many younger
people delaying starting families. Research indicates that delay may
have a positive health benefit, after all.
•
Vitamin
D Deficiency in Pregnancy Raises the Odds of Low Birth Weight
Pregnant women who don't get enough vitamin D have a high risk of
delivering babies with lower birth weight, says a new study.
•
Delayed
Growth in Childhood Linked to Longer Lifespan
The slower you grow, the longer you live, a new study suggests.
•
More
Than 80 Percent Centenarians in US Are Women
Women make up to 80 percent of the nearly 53,000 people in the U.S. who
are over hundred years old.
NIH
Press
Releases
NIH
plans to relocate its chimpanzees from New Iberia to the Federal
Sanctuar...
The National Institutes of Health, after extensive collaboration with
the Chimp Haven federal sanctuary, New Iberia Research Center (NIRC),
and other organizations, has developed a plan to formally retire
directly to the Federal Sanctuary System all of its chimpanzees at New
Iberia that were recently designated as permanently ineligible for
biomedical research. The NIH animals housed at NIRC, New Iberia, La.,
are to be transferred to the Chimp Haven sanctuary in Keithville, La.,
over the next 12-15 months.
National
Institute on Drug Abuse to announce results of 2012 Monitoring the F...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will hold a press
conference on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to announce the results of its 2012
Monitoring the Future survey (MTF). The survey, funded by NIDA -- part
of the National Institutes of Health -- tracks annual drug abuse trends
of 8th, 10th, and 12th-grade students, including attitudes and
perceived risk of specific drugs of abuse. The 2012 MTF survey will
include use of bath salts among students for the first time.
Stress-resilience/susceptibility
traced to neurons in reward circuit
A specific pattern of neuronal firing in a brain reward circuit
instantly rendered mice vulnerable to depression-like behavior induced
by acute severe stress, a study supported by the National Institutes of
Health has found.
Experimental
agent briefly eases depression rapidly in test
A drug that works through the same brain mechanism as the fast-acting
antidepressant ketamine briefly improved treatment-resistant patients'
depression symptoms in minutes, with minimal untoward side effects, in
a clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The
experimental agent, called AZD6765, acts through the brain's glutamate
chemical messenger system.
NIH
scientists uncover how immune cells sense who they are
Scientists at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the National Institutes of Health,
have demonstrated that DNA previously thought to be 'junk' plays a
critical role in immune system response. The team's findings were
published in Cell and may lead to the identification of new therapeutic
targets for the treatment of immune-related disorders.
NIH
proposes critical initiatives to sustain future of U.S. biomedical
research
The National Institutes of Health is seeking to launch multiple
initiatives designed to help strengthen the biomedical research
enterprise and sustain the global competitiveness of the U.S.
scientific community well into the future. Faced with significant
challenges affecting the biomedical research workforce and the storage
and use of large biomedical datasets, the NIH Director charged the
Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) to develop recommendations.
The ACD used three specialized committee working groups, each of which
included additional outside experts on the relevant topics.
2012
Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit
The 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit is the
leading scientific gathering on health disparities. Thousands of
participants will attend approximately 100 sessions to exchange new
knowledge, and learn about progress, successes, challenges, and
opportunities in implementing innovative research.
NIH
Announcements
Secondary
Analyses and Archiving of Social and Behavioral Datasets in Aging
(R03)
Funding Number: RFA-AG-13-009
Expiration Date: February 15, 2013
Request
for Information (RFI): Large Scale Clinical Trials on Aging
Notice NOT-AG-12-018 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Changes
to the NIH Public Access Policy and the Implications to Awards: Webin...
Notice NOT-OD-13-016 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Time-Sensitive
Obesity Policy and Program Evaluation (R01)
Expiration Date: September 11, 2015
PAR-12-186 DBSR
Macroeconomic Aspects of Population Aging (R01)
Expiration
date:
10/04/2014
Secondary
Analyses
in Obesity, Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R21)
Funding Number: PA-12-125
Expiration Date: May 8, 2015
Biodemography
of
Aging
(R21),
Funding
Number:
PAR-12-079
Expiration Date: March 4, 2014
Biodemography
of
Aging
(R03),
Funding
Number:
PAR-12-080
Expiration Date: March 4, 2014
Biodemography
of
Aging
(R01),
Funding
Number:
PAR-12-078
Expiration Date: March 4, 2014
Events:
Announcements:
NIH
Videocasts:
Industry Careers Overview and Job
Packages
Air date: Thursday, January 24, 2013, 2:00:00 PM (ET)
This session will highlight career opportunities in industry and
provide insight into how to position yourself (including building your
resume and cover letters) to be competitive for these jobs.
October NICHD Director's podcast
now online.
The October 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly
podcast.
The podcast features discussions of research of a study on a treatment
to reduce the risk of preterm birth and the new Safe to Sleep campaign.
Conferences:
Population Association of America Annual
meeting, New Orleans, LA.
The 2013 Annual Meeting will be held April 11-13 at the Sheraton New
Orleans Hotel
Abstract deadline:
September 21, 2012
2013
Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society
(AGS), May 3 - 5, 2013
Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX
Abstract deadline: December 3, 2012
The 25th REVES
meeting on health expectancy
The University of Texas at Austin (TX), May 27-29, 2013
Abstract submission deadline: February 15, 2013
The 20th
IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics, June
23-27, 2013, Seoul, Korea
Abstract deadline: October 31, 2012
108th
Annual meeting of the American Sociological Association
August 10-13, Hilton New York & Sheraton New York
The deadline for paper submission is January 9, 2013 at 3:00pm EST.
XXVII IUSSP International Population Conference
26 to 31 August 2013. Busan, Republic of Korea
Abstract deadline: November 7, 2012
66th
Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Wednesday,
11/20 to Sunday, 11/24, 2013
Sheraton New Orleans - New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, Louisiana
Deadline for abstract
submissions is March 15, 2013
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This
Newsletter is supported by a grant from the National
Institute on
Aging, National Institutes of Health (Grant No. 5 P30 AG012857)
If you would like to unsubscribe please notify us at ngavrilova@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu
