Editors:
Natalia Gavrilova and Stacy Tessler Lindau
This issue was
prepared with the assistance of Adam Rosenthal
Biomarkers
and Aging in the News Media
• Over-55s
'less aware on cancer'
People aged
over-55 are less aware than younger adults of the factors
affecting cancer risk, a UK survey suggests.
• Several
too many? Your immune system could be at risk
Going on a
drinking binge could leave you wide open to infections, as
well as hangovers, work suggests.
• 45,000
U.S. deaths linked to no insurance
A freelance
cameraman with a burst appendix; a 51-year-old mother with
undiagnosed heart disease; a 26-year-old with unusual fatigue. None had
health insurance; all three died. A new analysis finds the uninsured
have a 40 percent higher risk of death than those who have insurance.
• Researchers:
Aspirin cuts colon cancer risk
LONDON (AP) --
People with a genetic susceptibility to colon cancer
could cut their chances of developing the disease in half by taking a
daily dose of aspirin, researchers said Monday....
• Taking
Care of Parents Also Means Taking Care of Finances
Caring for aging
parents can quickly cause an unexpected financial
squeeze, and put the savings of adult children in jeopardy.
• In
One Study, a Heart Benefit for Chocolate
People who eat
chocolate have increased survival rates after a heart
attack, researchers in Sweden found in an observational study.
• Anxious
kids at risk for obesity in adulthood
Researchers
found that children with a lower self-esteem, those who
felt less in control of their lives and those who were often ...
• Scientists
Discover 3 More Genes With Links to Alzheimer's Disease
Two
European research teams have identified three genes that affect a
person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause
of dementia in the elderly.
• Swine
Flu Deaths Striking Older Children More Often
Swine flu may be
causing more deaths among older children than the very
young, federal health officials reported Thursday.
• Heart
Risk Factors Cut Life Span by 10 Years
A 50-year-old
smoker who has a history of high blood pressure and high
cholesterol can expect to die a decade earlier than someone of the same
age with none of these heart disease risk factors, a study shows.
• New
Sign of Diabetes Risk
People with the
lowest blood levels of sex hormone-binding globulin
(SHBG) have a tenfold higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those with
high SHBG levels, a U.S. study shows.
• Vigorous
CPR Is Best for Cardiac Arrest
Vigorous
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with more chest
compressions on people with sudden cardiac arrest can improve the
survival rate, a new study shows.
• Heart
Risk Factors on the Rise Again
The percentage
of Americans without major heart disease risk factors
rose during the 1980s and 1990s, but our health is declining again, a
study shows.
• Survival
Improves for Prostate Cancer
Older men with
early prostate cancer are far more likely to survive
their disease without surgery or radiation today than they were just a
few decades ago, a new study shows.
• Advanced
Gum Disease May Raise Cancer Risk
A new study
suggests a common form of gum disease may significantly
raise the risk of head and neck cancer.
• Second
Breast Cancer: 3 Lifestyle Risks
Being obese,
drinking seven or more alcoholic beverages per week, and
smoking may make a second breast cancer more likely, a new study shows.
• Persistent
Pain May Accelerate Signs Of Aging By Two To Three Decades In Midd...
Younger people
with pain look similar in terms of their disability to
people who are two to three decades older without pain, according to a
new study. The results of the study uncovered that people with pain
develop the functional limitations classically associated with aging at
much earlier ages.
• Postmenopausal
Women, Too, Reap Cardiovascular Benefits From Endurance Training
After menopause,
decreased estrogen and changes in body composition
affect women's metabolism. But does this affect women's response to
exercise? A new study shows that postmenopausal women benefit as much
as younger women do from endurance training, improving both
cardiovascular and respiratory fitness. On average, women raised their
maximum lung volume to that of women 16 years younger.
• Study
Details Pathways To Flu Virus Exposure, Validates Preventative Measures
With estimates
that half the population of the United States could be
infected with the 2009 H1N1 flu virus this fall and winter, a new study
examines four flu exposure pathways and quantifies the risk posed by
each pathway, which, the analysis found, varies based on changes in
viral concentrations.
• Vexing
Long-term Health Care Absent From US Debate
Even as the
health care debate rages in Washington, scant attention has
been given to providing long-term care for the elderly and disabled.
While lawmakers struggle to come up with a plan, millions of stressed
families are being driven into poverty, and state and federal budgets
are being stretched to their limits.
NIH
Press Releases
NIH
Opens Website for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines for Approval and
Announ...
National
Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins, M.D.,
Ph.D., announces that NIH is now accepting requests for human embryonic
stem cell (hESC) lines to be approved for use in NIH-funded research.
The NIH Director is also pleased to announce the members of a new
working group of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD): the
Working Group for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Eligibility Review.
Statement
of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy...
HIV/AIDS began
its deadly course in the United States mostly as a
disease of young men, but today the epidemic touches people of all
ages, including adults aged 50 and older. On September 18, the first
National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, we pause to recognize the
importance of preventing HIV infection in this age group and
understanding and addressing the unique health effects of the virus on
older Americans.
NIH Funds
Grantees Focusing on Epigenomics of Human Health and Disease
The National
Institutes of Health announced today that it will fund 22
grants on genome-wide studies of how epigenetic changes ? chemical
modifications to genes that result from diet, aging, stress, or
environmental exposures define and contribute to specific human
diseases and biological processes.
Electronic
Nose Sniffs out Toxins
Imagine a
polka-dotted postage stamp-sized sensor that can sniff out
some known poisonous gases and toxins and show the results simply by
changing colors. Support for the development and application of this
electronic nose comes from the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. The new
technology is discussed in this month's issue of Nature Chemistry and
exemplifies the types of sensors that are being developed as part of
the NIH Genes, Environment and Health Initiative (GEI).
NIH
to Hold Press Telebriefing on September 24 following
State-of-the-Science...
Ductal carcinoma
in situ (DCIS) is a condition in which abnormal cells
are found in the lining of a breast duct. Although the natural course
of DCIS is not well understood, this intraductal carcinoma can become
invasive cancer and spread to other tissues. However, not all DCIS will
progress to invasive disease, and it is thought that DCIS can be
present in some individuals without causing problems over a long
period. Unfortunately, it is currently not clear which lesion types are
more likely to become invasive. There is also still uncertainly
regarding the most effective treatment modality and how this may vary
by specific tumor and patient characteristics, leading to difficult
decisions for patients and providers.
New
Treatment Found to Reduce Vision Loss from Central Retinal Vein
Occlusion
Scientists have
identified the first long-term, effective treatment to
improve vision and reduce vision loss associated with blockage of large
veins in the eye. This research was part of a multi-center, phase III
clinical trial supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) at the
National Institutes of Health.
Laser
Treatment for Vision Loss from Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion is Safer
t...
Scientists have
found that laser therapy is equivalent to two different
dosages of corticosteroid medications for treating vision loss from the
blockage of small veins in the back of the eye, a condition known as
branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Furthermore, laser treatment was
shown to have fewer complications for patients.
Innovative
Community-Based Prevention System Reduces Risky Behavior in 10-14 ...
A randomized
trial of Communities That Care (CTC), an evidence-based
substance-use community-focused prevention system, showed significant
reductions in the initiation of alcohol use, tobacco use, binge
drinking, and delinquent behavior among middle schoolers as they
progressed from the fifth through the eighth grades. The four-year
trial, called the Community Youth Development Study, began in 2003 and
has been supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part
of the National Institutes of Health. The positive results, published
in the Sept. 7 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine,
demonstrate that community-based coalitions using customized
evidence-based approaches can prevent the early initiation of substance
abuse and delinquent behavior among youth.
Scientists
Identify Two Gene Variants Associated with Alzheimer's Risk
In the largest
genome-wide association study (GWAS) reported to date
involving Alzheimer's disease, scientists have identified two new
possible genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's, the most
common form of the disease. The study, which pooled DNA samples from a
number of European and U.S. groups, not only associated variations in
the sequence of the CLU and PICALM genes with increased risk, but also
found another 13 gene variants that merit further investigation,
according to findings presented in the September 6, 2009, online issue
of Nature Genetics. Involving more than 16,000 DNA samples, one feature
of this research was its use of publicly shared DNA samples and
databases, including several supported by the National Institute on
Aging (NIA) and other components of the National Institutes of Health.
New NIH Tool
Makes Funding Data, Research Results and Products Searchable
Comprehensive
funding information for NIH grants and contracts is now
available on the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT)
thanks to a new, user-friendly system called the RePORT Expenditures
and Results, or RePORTER. RePORTER combines NIH project databases and
funding records, PubMed abstracts, full-text articles from PubMed
Central, and information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with
a robust search engine, allowing users to locate descriptions and
funding details on NIH-funded projects along with research results that
cite the NIH support.
NIH
Announcements
Restructured
Application Forms and Instructions for Submissions for FY2011 Fu...
Notice from the
NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Exceptional,
Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration (EUREKA)...
Request for
Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
NIA
Intervention Testing Program Solicits Proposals for Compounds to Test
for Anti-Aging Activity in Mice
NOT-AG-09-007 Receipt for Proposals: December 18, 2009
Effects
of Gene-Social Environment Interplay on Health and Behavior in Later
Life (R01)
RFA-AG-10-006 Expiration date: 2009/11/10
Healthy
Aging through Behavioral Economic Analyses of Situations (R01)
RFA-AG-10-008 Expiration date: 2009/11/03
Network
Infrastructure Support for Emerging Behavioral and Social Research
Areas in Aging (R24)
PAR-09-233 Expiration date: 2010/09/28
Exploratory
Innovations in Biomedical Computational Science and Technology (R21)
PAR-09-219 Expiration date: 2012/09/08
Building
Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (K12)
RFA-OD-09-006 Expiration date: 2009/10/23
The
Human Connectome Project (U54)
RFA-MH-10-020 Expiration date: 2009/11/25
Development
and Validation of Disease Biomarkers (R01)
(PA-09-204)
Identification and Characterization of
Sensitive Periods for Neurodevelopment...
Request for Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Innovations
in Biomedical Computational Science and Technology (R01)
Program
Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Events
NIH videocasts:
Conferences:
Gerontological
Society of America Annual meeting will be held
November 18-22, 2009 in Hilton and Marriott Marquis,
This Newsletter is supported
by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of
Health (Grant No. 5 P30 AG012857)
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