Editors: Natalia Gavrilova and Stacy Tessler Lindau
CCBAR
Questions and Answers this Month:
Q: Is there any published material that distinguishes between biomarkers and biological risk factors?
A: The term “biomarker,” and related terms “biomeasure” or “bioindicator” are typically used more broadly than the term “biological risk factor.” For example, cortisol is used as biomarker of psychosocial stress, but has a key role in normal physiology and may be a biomeasure of physiological function. Anthrax is an exogenous biological risk factor for infection, disease, and death, but would not typically be referred to as a bioindicator or biomarker. Hypercholesterolemia is an endogenous biological risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In the case of cholesterol, an elevated level can also be considered a biomarker or bioindicator of cardiovascular risk.
NAS
published several volumes on biomeasures, which can
be accessed online. References to these editions are available at CCBAR
website
(under featured books):
http://biomarkers.uchicago.edu/researchresources.htm
Additional information on biomarker definitions is available under "NIH Resources" on this webpage.
There is a special publication on biomarker definition (Biomarkers Definitions Working Group. Biomarkers and surrogate endpoints: Preferred definitions and conceptual framework. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2001) 69, 89-95): http://www.nature.com/clpt/journal/v69/n3/abs/clpt200113a.html
News
from the NEJM, Nature Journals, Science, BMJ, PNAS and JAMA
Aging
in
the Natural World: Comparative Data Reveal Similar Mortalit...
Aging patterns in humans fall within the parameters of other primates
in
natural populations.
Aping
Aging
Human beings are considered distinct from other primates for a host of
traits,
including how we age. A long-term study of several primate groups in
their
natural habitat by Bronikowski
Animal
behaviour:
Chickens feel for each other
Rats and mice show changes in behaviour when they see close relatives
in
distress. It seems that chickens might also display signs of empathy -
an
ability to share another's emotional state. If farm animals empathize
more
widely with their fellows, farmers may need to
Personalized
cancer
medicine: era of promise and progress
Nowhere has the evolution of personalized medicine been more rapid than
the
field of oncology. Advances in drug development, identification of
multiple
disease subtypes, and available high-throughput technologies have
allowed
treatment progress and a better understanding of cancer heterogeneity.
Suc...
Taming
the
dragon: genomic biomarkers to individualize the treatment of cancer
Antihypertensive
Treatment
and Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease...
Context:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk increases beginning at systolic blood
pressure levels of 115 mm Hg. Use of antihypertensive medications among
patients with a history of CVD or diabetes and without hypertension has
been
debated.
Objective:
To evaluate the effect of antihypertensive treatment...
Stroke:
Discontinuation
of low-dose acetylsalicylic acid therapy increases th...
New research has revealed that in patients with a history of
cardiovascular or
cerebrovascular disease, discontinuation of low-dose acetylsalicylic
acid (ASA)
therapy leads to a marked rise in the risk of future stroke or
transient
ischemic attack (TIA). Our study highlights the need for greater
Alzheimer
disease:
Coated-platelets can predict risk of Alzheimer disease
An assay for elevated coated-platelet levels can be used to predict
which
patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are most likely to
progress
rapidly to Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a new study.
Coated-platelets
represent a peripheral biomarker of progression risk of AD, explains
lea...
Endurance
exercise
rescues progeroid aging and induces systemic mitochondrial...
A causal role for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutagenesis in mammalian
aging is
supported by recent studies demonstrating that the mtDNA mutator mouse,
harboring a defect in the proofreading-exonuclease activity of
mitochondrial
polymerase gamma, exhibits accelerated aging phenotypes characteristic
of...
C-terminal-truncated
apolipoprotein
(apo) E4 inefficiently clears amyloid-{be...
Apolipoprotein (apo) E4 is the major known genetic risk factor for
Alzheimer's
disease (AD). We have shown in vitro and in vivo that apoE4
preferentially
undergoes aberrant cleavage in neurons, yielding neurotoxic
C-terminal-truncated fragments. To study the effect of these fragments
on
amyloid-...
The
structural
basis of inter-individual differences in human behaviour and c...
Inter-individual variability in perception, thought and action is
frequently
treated as a source of 'noise' in scientific investigations of the
neural
mechanisms that underlie these processes, and discarded by averaging
data from
a group of participants. However, recent MRI studies in the human
brai...
Prevalence
of
Heavy Smoking in California and the United States, 1965-2007 [O...
Context:
The intensity of smoking, not just prevalence, is associated with
future health
consequences.
Objective:
To estimate smoking intensity patterns over time and by age within
birth
cohorts for California and the remaining United States.
Design, Setting, and Participants: Two
large
population-base...
Biomarkers
and Aging in the News Media
•
Blood Test May Predict
Risk of
Diabetes
Elevated levels of a group of five amino acids may predict the
development of
diabetes years before any noticeable symptoms occur, according to a new
study.
• Predicting lung cancer
risk from
toenail clippings
Scientists say they can tell from a person's toenail clippings how
likely they
are to develop lung cancer
• Ibuprofen 'cuts
Parkinson's risk'
People who take ibuprofen on a regular basis appear to have a lower
risk of
developing Parkinson's disease, research suggests.
• New study links pain
relievers to
erectile dysfunction
Men who regularly take pain relievers such as ibuprofen and aspirin may
be at
increased risk for erectile dysfunction, new research suggests ...
• Passive smoke breast
cancer link
Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke as a child or adult appears to
increase a
woman's risk of breast cancer, experts say.
• Exercise cuts bowel
cancer risk
People who lead an active lifestyle are up to three times less likely
to
develop polyps which can develop into bowel cancer, according to a
study.
• Well: Exercise Seen to
Reduce
Signs of Aging
An new study finds that exercise reduced or eliminated signs of aging
in mice
genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.
• Time lived with obesity
linked
with mortality
Researchers have found the number of years individuals live with
obesity is
directly associated with the risk of mortality.
• Obesity raises risk of
deadly
breast cancer
Scientists know that being overweight increases the risk of breast
cancers fed
by estrogen, but being too fat may also increase the risk of
triple-negative
breast cancers, a less common and far more deadly type, U.S.
researchers said
Tuesday.
• 'Apple shape' heart
risk doubts
Doubts have been raised over the idea that being overweight and 'apple
shaped'
increases heart attack risk
• Men may be facing a
depressing
future
Societal and economic shifts may put more men in Western countries at
risk for
depression, scientists worry.
• Mother's Alzheimer's
Disease May
Boost Your Risk
Having a mother with Alzheimer's disease may boost your risk of getting
it more
than having a father who suffers from the degenerative brain disorder,
new
research suggests.
• Antioxidants in
pregnancy prevent
obesity in animal offspring
New biological research may be relevant to the effects of a mother's
high-fat
diet during pregnancy on the development of obesity in her children. An
animal
study suggests that a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet causes oxidative
stress
-- an excess of deleterious free radicals -- during pregnancy,
predisposing the
offspring to obesity and diabetes. Feeding rats antioxidants before and
during
pregnancy completely prevented obesity and glucose intolerance in their
offspring.
• Popular psychology
theories on
self-esteem not backed up by serious research,...
Low self-esteem is associated with a greater risk of mental health
problems
such as eating disorders and depression. From a public health
perspective, it
is important for staff in various health-related professions to know
about
self-esteem. However, there is a vast difference between the
research-based
knowledge on self-esteem and the simplified popular psychology theories
that
are disseminated through books and motivational talks, reveals new
research
from Sweden.
• Unemployment: A health
risk
Compared to people in employment, men and women who are unemployed
suffer more
often and longer from both physical and emotional complaints. Why
should the
unemployed have more health problems?
• Women more pained by
work
intrusions
With the growth of smartphones and other devices, the line between work
and
family time is getting blurrier. But a new study suggests that women
feel 40%
more distress than men when family life is frequently interrupted by
work
contact.
• More women considered
at risk for
heart disease
New AHA guidelines classify five conditions as risk factors that too
often
hadn't been recognized as such in women.
• Tonsillectomy linked to
excess
weight gain in kids
Tonsillectomy is the most common major surgical procedure performed in
children. Children who undergo the surgical removal of their tonsils
(tonsillectomy), with or without the removal of their adenoids
(adenoidectomy),
are at increased risk for becoming overweight after surgery, according
to new
research.
• Chernobyl Study Says
Health Risks
Linger
Children and teenagers who drank contaminated milk or ate affected
cheese in
the days and weeks after the Chernobyl explosion still suffer from an
increased
risk of thyroid cancer, according to a study released Thursday.
• Not Just Women: Half of
Men May
Have HPV
According to a new study, half of adult men have human papilloma virus
(HPV).
HPV is linked to certain cancers in men and women, and many men aren't
even
aware of the risks. Experts say prevention is essential.
• Study: Older Women Need
Pap
Smears, Too
Women aged 70 and over should continue to get regular Pap smears to
screen for
cervical cancer, a study suggests.
• Mediterranean diet
blocks heart
disease, diabetes, cancer: Study
Traditional Greek eating habits lower risk for many diseases, study
shows
• Study: Coffee tied to
lower stroke
risk in women
Women who enjoy a daily dose of coffee may like this perk: It might
lower their
risk of stroke....
• Fatty Fish May Cut Risk
of Macular
Degeneration
Eating fatty fish one or more times a week may reduce your risk for
developing
age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in
people aged
60 and older.
• New Genetic Links to
Heart Disease
Risk
Three studies have identified a large number of genes linked to the
development
of heart disease among Europeans, South Asians, and Chinese people.
• Higher HDL Cholesterol
May Cut
Colon Cancer Risk
Higher levels of HDL 'good' cholesterol may protect against colon
cancer,
findings from a large European study suggest.
• State budget cuts
decimate mental
health services
Budget writers in U.S.
states looking for cash to balance the books have stripped a cumulative
$1.8
billion from mental health services over the last 2½ years,
putting the public
at risk as the mentally ill crowd emergency rooms and prisons,
according to the
nation's largest mental health advocacy group.
• Hearing loss
'incredibly common'
as Boomers grow older
Those heady nights of cranking up the stereo may be over for many Baby
Boomers,
but the fallout, age-related hearing loss, may be just begin ...
• Type 2 diabetes surges
in people
younger than 20
U.S.
cases in those under 20 have grown from almost zero to tens of
thousands in
just over a decade.
• Birth Order May Affect
Risk of
Allergies
First-born children may be more likely to develop certain types of
allergies
than their younger brothers or sisters, a study suggests.
NIH
Press Releases
NICHD seeks comment on
scientific
vision papers
The first two of nine white papers outlining a scientific vision for
the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development
(NICHD) are now available online for public comment.
NIH announces new
strategic plan
to combat diabetes
A new strategic plan to guide diabetes-related research over the next
decade
was announced today by the National Institutes of Health. The plan,
developed by
a federal work group led by the National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive
and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), identifies research opportunities with the
greatest potential to benefit the millions of Americans who are living
with or
at risk for diabetes and its complications.
Higher cancer risk
continues after
Chernobyl
Nearly 25 years after the accident at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant in Ukraine,
exposure to radioactive iodine-131(I-131, a radioactive isotope) from
fallout
may be responsible for thyroid cancers that are still occurring among
people
who lived in the Chernobyl
area and were children or adolescents at the time of the accident,
researchers
say.
NIH study: High blood
pressure
linked to steeper decline in walking speeds in...
Researchers have found a link between high blood pressure and a greater
drop in
average walking speeds in older adults, according to results from a new
National Institutes of Health-funded study. The drop seems to occur
even in
study participants whose high blood pressure is successfully treated.
Drastic
changes in walking speed can impact a senior's ability to remain
independent
and indicate possible health problems.
National Library of
Medicine
celebrates 175 years of information innovation
2011 marks the 175th anniversary of the National Library of Medicine
(NLM),
part of the National Institutes of Health. The world's largest medical
library
and the producer of electronic information resources used by millions
of people
every day, NLM has changed the way scientific and medical information
is
organized, stored, accessed, and disseminated. From its founding in
1836 as the
library of the U.S. Army Surgeon General to its present position at
NIH, NLM's
hallmark has been information innovation, leading to exciting
scientific
discoveries that ultimately improve the public health.
Triplets with extremely
low birth
weight face high risks
Among the smallest preterm infants, those born as triplets are at
greater risk
than single born infants or twins of dying or developing a disability
before
their second birthday, according a study by a research network of the
National
Institutes of Health.
New drug regimens cut
HIV spread
from mother to infant
Pregnant women who are unaware that they have HIV miss the chance for
drug
treatment that can benefit not only their own health, but could also
prevent
them from transmitting the virus to their infants. When HIV is not
diagnosed
until women go into labor, their infants are usually treated soon after
birth
with the anti HIV drug zidovudine (ZDV), to prevent the infants from
becoming infected
with the virus.
NIH launches largest
oil spill
health study
A new study that will look at possible health effects of the Gulf of
Mexico's
Deepwater Horizon oil spill on 55,000 cleanup workers and volunteers
begins
today in towns across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,
and Florida.
National Institutes of
Health launches summer
institute on mHealth
The National Institutes of Health today announced the creation of the
first NIH
mHealth, or mobile health, Summer Institute. Scheduled for the summer
of 2011,
this week-long workshop will bring together leaders in mobile health
technologies, behavioral science researchers, federal health officials
and
members of the medical community to provide early career investigators
with an
opportunity to learn about mHealth research. The Office of Behavioral
and
Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), part of NIH, partnered with Qualcomm,
a developer
of wireless technologies, to cosponsor the course.
NIH Announcements
NICHD Will Participate
in
PA-11-104, Reducing Health Disparities Among Minori...
Notice NOT-HD-11-008 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
NLM Institutional
Training Grants
for Research Training in Biomedical Informa...
Funding Opportunity RFA-LM-11-001 from the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts. The National Library of Medicine
invites
training grant applications for support of predoctoral and postdoctoral
training for research careers in biomedical informatics. Applications
may be
for the creation of entirely new program or for the renewal of existing
NLM
training program grants. Such training will help meet a growing need
for
investigators trained in biomedical computing and related fields as
they
directly relate to application domains, including health care delivery,
basic
biomedical research, clinical and translational research, public health
and
similar areas.
Economics
of
Retirement (R21),
PA-11-140
Letter of Intent Due Date May 16, 2011
Expiration Date May 8, 2014
Economics
of
Retirement (R01),
PA-11-138
Letter of Intent Due Date May 5, 2011
Expiration Date May 8, 2014
Modification of the
Biographical
Sketch in NIH Grant Application Forms (PHS 3...
Notice NOT-OD-11-045 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Translational Research
to Help
Older Adults Maintain their Health and Independence in the Community
(R01)
PA-11-123
Family and
Interpersonal
Relationships in an Aging Context (R01)
Expiration Date May 8, 2014
Reducing Health
Disparities Among
Minority and Underserved Children (R01)
Funding Opportunity PA-11-104 from the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts. This Funding Opportunity Announcement
(FOA)
issued by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), National
Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute on Alcohol,
Alcoholism,
and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), and National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health (NIH),
solicits
Research Project Grant (R01) applications from
institutions/organizations that
propose to conduct research to reduce health disparities among minority
and
underserved children.
Reducing Health
Disparities Among
Minority and Underserved Children (R21)
Funding Opportunity PA-11-105 from the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts.
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.
Events
NIH Videocasts:
• Quantitative
Biology and
Biomarker Discovery without Immunoassays
The NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series includes weekly
scientific talks
by some of the top researchers in the biomedical sciences worldwide.
For more information, visit: http://wals.od.nih.gov/
Air date: 3/30/2011 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time
• STEP Symposium -
Humor
and Healing: Laughing for Health and Well Being (HHS Only)
Everyone has heard: 'Laughter is the best medicine' and now there is
scientific
evidence to support it. For example, mirthful laughter can improve
blood flow,
acting like 'internal jogging.' This reduces stress, boosts human
growth
hormone and the immune system. In addition, cancer patients whose
treatments
include laughter therapy report reduced pain and more rapid return to
regular
activities at home. Come out of your office and laugh out loud with us.
We'll
teach you the physiology of...
Air date: Tuesday, April 05, 2011, 12:30:00 PM Eastern Time
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: 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
Abstract deadline: February 15, 2011.
Cells
to
Society (C2S) Summer Biomarker Institute at Northwestern University,
Evanston, June 6-8, 2011.
Application Deadline: April 1, 2011
The Summer Institute in LGBT
Health at
the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health at the Fenway
Institute,
Boston, July 18-August 12, 2011.
Applications are due April 18, 2011
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)
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