Editors: Natalia Gavrilova and Stacy Tessler Lindau
The
next Chicago Core on Biomeasures in
Population-Based Health and Aging Research Conference will be held in
Chicago, June 2-3, 2011,
adjacent to Northwestern University's Cells to Society (C2S) Summer
Biomarker
Institute.
The focus of the 2011 conference will be
Biosocial Approaches to the Study of Urban Health and Aging. The
meeting
will offer an update on state-of-the-art approaches to minimally
invasive
collection of biological measures in population-based research, and is
seeking
original, research-in-progress-type presentations of relevance to the
topic. Please contact Stacy Lindau slindau@uchicago.edu
if you would like to present or participate in the conference.
Space is
limited.
CCBAR
Director,
Stacy Lindau, MD, MAPP, participated with Eric Whitaker, MD, MPH in a
meeting
of NIA RC4 awardees
held
at the Gerontological Society of America meeting. The RC4 mechanism
funded
teams building community-engaged research infrastructure. University of
Chicago
was awarded RC4 funding (Whitaker,
PI)
among
4 other NIA
awardees (and 22 other awardees Institute-wide) to build the Chicago
Health and
Aging Services Exchange, an internet-based market that will be designed
to
match individuals in need of services with appropriate, convenient
services in
their communities. Market data on demand for and supply of services
will also
be generated and made publicly available on the site. This project
builds on
the South Side Health and Vitality Studies (SSHVS.org) (Lindau,
PI)
Community Asset Mapping Project, led by Daniel Johnson, MD with Lindau
and
community members. The asset mapping project endeavors to map
every built
resource and the health and human services provided by these
organizations,
including for-profit businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and
civic
institutions. These data are available to researchers and
community
members at southsidehealth.org (and for purchase by commercial
organizations).
Contact Jennifer Makelarski at jmakelarski@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu
for more information. In addition to providing a needed service
to the
community, the asset mapping data are being used by researchers
interested in
understanding whether and how older adults are optimizing community
resources
for health and health care purposes. The process of engaging with
community
members to design and execute the asset mapping data collection is
proving a
very effective strategy for building trusting and productive
relationships with
key community leaders and organizations
and
for
disseminating uptake of the new site.
CCBAR website Studies
page has been updated. Link to the RAND Survey Meta Data
Repository
has been provided and a special page
on
HRS-harmonized studies has been added. Please
contact Natalia
Gavrilova
ngavrilova@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu
if
you would like your study linked to the CCBAR
website or if you have a site that you would be willing to link to
www.biomarkers.uchicago.edu.
News from the NEJM, Nature Journals, Science, BMJ, PNAS and JAMA
Demographic Research:
Asia's
Looming Social Challenge: Cop...
Asia is graying fast. Long-term population
studies under way or about to begin will chart demographic, economic,
and
health transitions,
and
give governments worldwide clues about how to cope with the aging boom.
Searching for
biomarkers in
neurodegeneration
Dental evidence for
ontogenetic
differences between modern humans and Neander...
Humans have an unusual life history, with an early weaning age, long
childhood,
late first reproduction, short interbirth intervals, and long lifespan.
In
contrast, great apes wean later, reproduce earlier, and have longer
intervals
between births. Despite 80 y of speculation, the origins of these d...
Heritable victimization
and the
benefits of agonistic relationships [Evolution]
Here, we present estimates of heritability and selection on network
traits in a
single population, allowing us to address the evolutionary potential of
social
behavior and the poorly understood link between sociality and fitness.
To
evolve, sociality must have some heritable basis, yet the heritabil...
Effects of oxytocin on
recollections of maternal care and closeness [Psycholo...
Although the infant–caregiver attachment bond is critical to survival,
little
is known about the biological mechanisms supporting attachment
representations
in humans. Oxytocin plays a key role in attachment bond formation and
maintenance in animals and thus could be expected to affect attachm...
How the brain
integrates costs and
benefits during decision making [Psycholog...
When we make decisions, the benefits of an option often need to be
weighed
against accompanying costs. Little is known, however, about the neural
systems
underlying such cost–benefit computations. Using functional magnetic
resonance
imaging and choice modeling, we show that decision making bas...
Metabolism:
Testosterone
replacement therapy improves the metabolic syndrome
Restoration or improvement of circulating testosterone concentrations
in men
with the metabolic syndrome improves variables related to this
disorder,
confirm the results of a placebo-controlled trial.The metabolic
syndrome is
associated with a depression of testosterone levels, thereby raising
the r...
Biomarkers: Osteopontin
to
determine response to parathyroid hormone therapy?
Plasma levels of osteopontin may be used as a biomarker for early
treatment
response in women receiving intermittent parathyroid hormone (PTH)
therapy for
postmenopausal osteoporosis, according to researchers from Chung Shan
Medical University
in Taichung,
Taiwan.Osteopontin deficiency in a transgen...
Cancer: Oral
bisphosphonates could
raise risk of esophageal cancer
Long-term use of oral bisphosphonates might increase the risk of
esophageal
cancer, according to a UK
study. The risk was also affected by the number of prescriptions for a
bisphosphonate that the patient received.Patients who take oral
bisphosphonates
to prevent or treat osteoporosis often
Reproductive
endocrinology: PCOS
raises risk of periodontitis
Patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to
develop
periodontitis than are those without PCOS, according to a Turkish
research
group.Women with PCOS are known to have an increased risk of developing
the
metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular
complicatio...
Reproductive
endocrinology:
Postmenopausal hormone therapy: risks versus bene...
The Endocrine Society's recent Scientific Statement on postmenopausal
hormone
therapy highlights the dangers of calculating risks and benefits
associated
with hormone therapy for women in early menopause on the basis of
evidence from
previous studies. But does it provide a quantum shift in the clini...
Obesity: Lorcaserin -
not a new
weapon in the battle with appetite
An FDA advisory panel voted against approval of the
appetite-suppressing,
anti-obesity drug lorcaserin in September this year. Do the findings of
a
recent, randomized trial of lorcaserin provide clues to the decision?
Alzheimer disease:
Biomarkers
predict conversion from MCI to AD
New research published in Brain indicates that biomarkers of both
amyloid-ß
(Aß) load and neurodegeneration predict time to progression from
mild cognitive
impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer disease (AD).Levels of the 42 amino acid
form of
Aß (Aß42) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF),
Alzheimer disease: MRI
and CSF
biomarkers in AD - accuracy and temporal change
Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarkers reflect specific features of AD
pathology.
These biomarkers may be used in the diagnosis and staging of AD, or may
act as
surrogate end points in clinical trials. Thus, a thorough understanding
of the
diagnostic accuracy of and longitudinal change in cerebrospinal f...
Common infections and
the risk of
stroke
The occurrence of stroke in populations is incompletely explained by
traditional vascular risk factors. Data from several case-control
studies
and one large study using case series methodology indicate that recent
infection is a temporarily acting, independent trigger factor for
ischemic stroke.
Bot...
Efficacy and Safety of
Prescription Omega-3 Fatty Acids for the Prevention of...
Context Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common, yet there
remains an
unmet medical need for additional treatment options. Current
pharmacological
treatments have limited efficacy and significant adverse events.
Limited data
from small trials suggest omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may
provide ...
Mitochondrial
Dysfunction in
Autism [Preliminary Communication]
Context
Impaired mitochondrial function may influence processes highly
dependent on
energy, such as neurodevelopment, and contribute to autism. No studies
have
evaluated mitochondrial dysfunction and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
abnormalities
in a well-defined population of children with autism.
Cardiovascular drug
therapy in the
elderly: benefits and challenges
Increasing life expectancy in industrialized societies has resulted in
a huge
population of older adults with cardiovascular disease. Despite
advances in
device therapy and surgery, the mainstay of treatment for these
disorders
remains pharmacological. Hypertension affects two-thirds of older
adults...
Epidemiology and risk
profile of
heart failure
Heart failure (HF) is a major public health issue, with a prevalence of
over
5.8 million in the USA,
and over 23 million worldwide, and rising. The lifetime risk of
developing HF
is one in five. Although promising evidence shows that the age-adjusted
incidence of
Behavioural
neuroscience: A gene
for impulsivity
Impulsivity has been linked to various psychiatric disorders and forms
of
violent behaviour. A gene mutated in a population of violent Finnish
criminal
offenders provides clues to the neural basis of this trait.
Longitudinal evidence
for
diminished frontal cortex function in aging [Neuros...
Cross-sectional estimates of age-related changes in brain structure and
function were compared with 6-y longitudinal estimates. The results
indicated
increased sensitivity of the longitudinal approach as well as
qualitative
differences. Critically, the cross-sectional analyses were suggestive
of age...
People believe they
have more free
will than others [Psychological_And_Cognit...
Four experiments identify a tendency for people to believe that their
own lives
are more guided by the tenets of free will than are the lives of their
peers.
These tenets involve the a priori unpredictability of personal action,
the
presence of multiple possible paths in a person's future, and the c...
Prenatal Micronutrient
Supplementation and Intellectual and Motor Function in...
Iron
and zinc are important for the development of both intellectual and
motor
skills. Few studies have examined whether iron and zinc supplementation
during
gestation, a critical period of central nervous system development,
affects
children's later functioning.
Biomarkers and Aging in the News Media
• Daily aspirin 'cuts
cancer risk'
A small daily dose of aspirin substantially reduces death rates from a
range of
common cancers, a study suggests.
• New Blood Test May
Detect Heart
Disease Risk
Researchers found that a highly sensitive blood test could reveal a
protein
which indicates heart disease and increased risk of dying in otherwise
healthy
individuals.
• "Good" Cholesterol May
Reduce Alzheimer's Risk
Columbia University Study Finds High HDL
Cholesterol May Lower Risk By as Much as 60 Percent
• UK given 'heart
epidemic' warning
The UK
needs to prepare for an epidemic of valvular heart disease, caused by a
rapidly
ageing population, say experts.
• Protein removal
Alzheimer's clue
Scientists have found that people with Alzheimer's disease clear a
damaging
protein from their brains more slowly than healthy people.
• Exposure to tobacco
smoke not
'risk-free'
Even occasional smoking or secondhand smoke causes immediate damage to
one's
organs and poses risk of serious illness or death, the U.S. Surgeon
General
said in a new report released Thursday.
• Risks: Fewer Heart
Problems Among
Moderate Drinkers
Teetotalers and binge drinkers were more likely to suffer heart trouble
than
adults who drank small amounts of alcohol at mealtimes, a European
study found.
• Inefficiency Hurts U.S.
in
Longevity Rankings
Researchers have concluded that the inefficiency of the health care
system is
to blame for the United States' ranking of 49th in life expectancy.
• Study: Treatment for
prostate cancer
may increase risk of colorectal cancer
A widely prescribed treatment for prostate cancer, called
androgen
deprivation therapy, involves reducing levels of androgens - male sex
hormones,
such as testosterone - that circulate in the blood. Some experts
believe that
androgens are thought to protect against colorectal cancer,...
• False-Positive
Mammograms Linked
to Breast Cancer
Women who have false-positive results on a mammogram are at increased
risk of
developing breast cancer, according to findings of a large Danish study.
• Surgeon General: No
Amount of
Smoking Is Safe
Even a single cigarette poses health risks. That's the latest
conclusion from
the U.S.
surgeon general in a new report on the health effects of smoking.
• 'Fountain of youth'
pill could
restore aging immune system
Researchers have identified an existing medication that restores key
elements
of the immune system that, when out of balance, lead to a steady
decline in
immunity and health as people age.
• A benefit of flu:
Protection from
asthma?
A new article suggests a new strategy to prevent asthma. Scientists
report that
the influenza virus infection in young mice protected the mice as
adults
against the development of allergic asthma. The same protective effect
was
achieved by treating young mice with compound isolated from the
bacterium
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacterium that colonizes the stomach
and is
best known for causing ulcers and increasing the risk of gastric
cancers.
• Estrogen alone is
effective for
reducing breast cancer risk, study finds
While endogenous estrogen (i.e., estrogen produced by ovaries and by
other
tissues) does have a well-known carcinogenic impact, hormone
replacement
therapy (HRT) utilizing estrogen alone (the exogenous estrogen)
provides a
protective effect in reducing breast cancer risk, according to a new
study.
• Starting school younger
equals
slimmer students
Girls who start school early for their age are less likely than others
to be
obese as teens, according to new research.
• Psoriasis, Heart
Disease, and
Diabetes: What's the Link?
Having psoriasis appears to double the risk that a person will also
have a
dangerous clustering of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes
known as
metabolic syndrome, a new study shows.
• Exercise, Vitamin D
Reduce Risk of
Falls in Elderly
A federal task force's review finds that for Americans 65 and older,
exercise
and vitamin D supplements can help reduce the risk of falling.
• Dairy Fat May Lower
Diabetes Risk
Experts recommend avoiding high-fat dairy products to lower diabetes
risk, but
a new study suggests this advice may be wrong.
• Acid suppressive
medication may
increase risk of pneumonia
Using acid suppressive medications, such as proton pump inhibitors and
histamine2 receptor antagonists, may increase the risk of developing
pneumonia,
states an article in Canadian Medical Association Journal.
• Link between depression
and
inflammatory response found in mice: New treatmen...
Researchers may have found a clue to the blues that can come with the
flu --
depression may be triggered by the same mechanisms that enable the
immune
system to respond to infection. In a new study, scientists activated
the immune
system in mice to produce "despair-like" behavior that has
similarities to depression in humans.
• Double-edged sword of
dominance:
Top chimps tend to suffer from more parasites
A study of chimpanzees has revealed that dominant animals with higher
testosterone levels tend to suffer from an increased burden of
parasites.
Researchers observed the primates' behavior and studied their droppings
to draw
the link between dominance and infection status.
• Free radicals good for
you? Banned
herbicide makes worms live longer
It sounds like science fiction -- scientists tested the current "free
radical theory of aging" by creating mutant worms that had increased
production of free radicals, predicting they would be short-lived. But
they
lived even longer than regular worms! Moreover, their enhanced
longevity was
abolished when they were treated with antioxidants such as vitamin C.
• Fatty diet linked with
higher
death risk
Older people who follow a healthy diet could live for longer, a study
suggests
• Aging: Paying the
Physical Price
for Longer Life
Gerontologists have concluded that people live longer not because they
are less
likely to get sick, but because they survive longer with disease.
NIH
Press Releases
Study ties
blood
protein to Alzheimer's brain abnormalities
Scientists are seeking ways to detect the earliest stages of
Alzheimer's
disease, since harmful changes may be taking place in the brain years
before
symptoms appear. Now, researchers report that a blood test detecting a
specific
protein in blood samples from cognitively normal older people may
reflect the
levels of beta-amyloid protein in the brain -- a hallmark of the
disease.
Supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, the findings
may
eventually lead to a blood test that helps predict risk for Alzheimer's
disease
and who may be a good candidate for participating in clinical trials.
Impaired
clearance,
not overproduction of toxic proteins, may underlie Alzhei...
In Alzheimer's disease, a protein fragment called beta-amyloid
accumulates at
abnormally high levels in the brain. Now researchers funded by the
National
Institutes of Health have found that in the most common, late-onset
form of
Alzheimer's disease, beta-amyloid is produced in the brain at a normal
rate but
is not cleared, or removed from the brain, efficiently. In addition to
improving the understanding of what pathways are most important in
development
of Alzheimer's pathology, these findings may one day lead to improved
biomarker
measures for early diagnosis as well as a new approach to treating this
devastating disorder.
National
Institute
on Drug Abuse to announce results of 2010 Monitoring the F...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will hold a press
conference on
Tuesday, December 14, to announce the results of its 2010 Monitoring
the Future
survey. 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 illicit drugs. It is
one of
three major polling instruments the Department of Health and Human
Services
uses to monitor the nation's substance abuse patterns. Information from
these
surveys helps identify potential drug problem areas, assess whether
federal
drug prevention efforts are effective, and ensure that resources are
targeted
to areas of greatest need.
Harvard
researcher
to speak at NIH on the promise of traditional therapies
Vikas P. Sukhatme, M.D., Ph.D., the Victor J. Aresty Professor of
Medicine at Harvard Medical
School, and Chief Academic Officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center will be the
featured speaker for the Second Annual Stephen E. Straus Distinguished
Lecture
in the Science of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dr.
Sukhatme's lecture
is entitled "Promise for the Future in Yesterday's Remedies:
Traditional
Therapies to Modern Medicine."
NIHSeniorHealth.gov
offers
info on anxiety disorders in older adults
Anxiety caused by stressful events like moving or losing a job is a
normal part
of life. Anxiety disorders, on the other hand, are characterized by
persistent,
excessive and disabling fear and worry and get progressively worse if
left
untreated. It is estimated that anxiety disorders affect between 3 and
14
percent of older adults in a given year. To provide an older audience
with
additional information, NIHSeniorHealth, the health and wellness
website for
older adults from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has added a
topic
about anxiety disorders.
NIH study
suggests
that early detection is possible for prion diseases
A fast test to diagnose fatal brain conditions such as mad cow disease
in
cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans could be on the horizon,
according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists.
Researchers at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases
(NIAID) have developed a highly sensitive and rapid new method to
detect and
measure infectious agents called prions that cause these diseases.
NIH study
identifies
ideal body mass index
A study looking at deaths from any cause found that a body mass index
(BMI)
between 20.0 and 24.9 is associated with the lowest risk of death in
healthy
non-smoking adults. Investigators also provided precise estimates of
the
increased risk of death among people who are overweight and obese.
Previous studies
that examined the risks from being overweight were inconclusive, with
some
reporting only modestly increased risks of death and others showing a
reduced
risk. Also, the precise risks for different levels of obesity were
uncertain.
The research team included investigators from the National Cancer
Institute
(NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and collaborators
from a
dozen other major research institutions worldwide. The results appear
in the
Dec. 2, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Drug-like
compound
stops thyroid overstimulation in early NIH studies
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified a
compound
that prevents overproduction of thyroid hormone, a finding that brings
scientists one step closer to improving treatment for Graves' disease.
NIH Announcements
NIA Resources for Aging
Studies in
the Non-Human Primate Model
Notice NOT-AG-11-003 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Cancer Prevention
Research Small
Grant Program (R03)
Funding Opportunity PAR-11-079 from the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts. This Funding Opportunity Announcement
(FOA) is
designed to enhance both basic and applied cancer prevention research.
The
National Cancer Institute (NCI) invites applications that propose small
and
time-limited projects pertinent to the development of cancer
chemoprevention
agents, biomarkers for early cancer detection, cancer-related nutrition
science, and/or clinical prevention studies that focus on specific
target
organs. Proposed projects may involve basic animal and/or translational
research and/or human subjects-oriented research. However, treatment
related
quality of life population based studies, as well as projects focused
on cancer
etiology, metastasis, animal model development, or treatment will not
be appropriate
for this FOA. New, as well as established, investigators in relevant
fields and
disciplines (e.g., chemoprevention, nutritional science, genetics,
infectious
agents, and early detection, including biomarker development and
validation)
are encouraged to apply for these small grants to test the feasibility
of
innovative ideas or carry out pilot studies. Ultimately, these small
grants are
expected to facilitate the development of full research projects grants.
The Market for
Long-Term Care
Insurance (R01)
Funding Opportunity RFA-RM-11-002 from the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts. This Funding Opportunity Announcement
(FOA)
solicits research (R01) applications from institutions/organizations
proposing
to advance knowledge on the economics of long-term care (LTC),
including topics
related to private and public LTC insurance, the Community Living
Assistance
Services and Supports (CLASS) program, and related topics. The FOA is a
component of the Common Fund initiative on Health Economics for Health
Care
Reform (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/healtheconomics).
NIH Basic Behavioral
and Social
Science Opportunity Network (OppNet) Short-te...
Funding Opportunity RFA-DE-11-003 from the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts. This NIH Funding Opportunity
Announcement
(FOA), issued by the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science
Opportunity
Network [OppNet] solicits applications for short-term mentored career
development
(K18) awards in the basic behavioral and social sciences research
(b-BSSR) from
three months to one year in duration.
Correction to
RFA-CA-10-017,
Scientific
Meetings for Creating Interdisciplinary Research Teams in Basic
Behavioral and
Social Science Research (R13), in Order to Simplify Submission
Requirements
Limited Competition:
Fogarty International
Research Collaboration -
Behavioral and Social Sciences
(FIRCA-BSS) Research Award (R03)
New Time Limit for NIH
Resubmission Applications
National Institute on
Aging:
Revision Requests for Active Program Projects (P01)
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
NIH Basic Behavioral
and Social
Science Opportunity Network
(OppNet) Short-term Interdisciplinary
Research Education Program for New Investigators (R25)
Request for Applications (RFA) Number: RFA-NR-11-002
Expiration Date: January 7, 2011
Scientific Meetings for
Creating
Interdisciplinary Research Teams in Basic Behavioral and Social Science
Research
(R13)
Psychosocial Stress and
Behavior:
Integration of Behavioral and Physiological...
Request for Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Development of
Comprehensive and
Conceptually-based Measures of Psychosocial ...
Request for Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Basic Mechanisms
Influencing
Behavioral Maintenance (R01)
Request for Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Chronic,
Non-Communicable Diseases
and Disorders Across the Lifespan: Fogarty...
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Participation of NIGMS
on
PAR-10-235, Climate Change and Health: Assessing an...
Effects of the Social
Environment
on Health: Measurement, Methods and Mechani...
Request for Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Events
Conferences:
Population
Association of America Annual Meeting.
The 2011 Annual Meeting will be held March 31-April 2 at the Marriott
Wardman Hotel,
Washington, DC.
Abstract deadline
was:
September 21, 2010.
(Note: The Welcome Mixer is on Wednesday, March 30, 8:30 p.m.)
2011 American
Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting, May 11-14, 2011. Gaylord
National Resort
and Convention Center, National Harbor, MD.
The deadline to submit abstracts was December 3, 2010.
23rd
meeting
of REVES will be held in Paris France,
from May 25 to 27, 2011
Abstracst deadline: February 15, 2011.
The 7th Chicago Core on
Biomeasures in Population-Based Health and Aging Research Conference will
be held in Chicago Gleacher Center,
June 2-3, 2011
Please contact Stacy Lindau slindau@uchicago.edu
if
you would like to present or participate in the conference. Space
is
limited.
Gerontological
Society
of America's 64th Annual Scientific Meeting, November 18-22, 2011,
Boston Hynes
Convention Center, Boston, MA.
Abstracts Deadline: March 15, 2011
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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