Editors: Natalia
Gavrilova and
Stacy Tessler Lindau
The fifth annual Summer Biomarker Institute was held on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University, June 7-9, 2010. The Institute is designed to provide a hands-on introduction to state-of-the-art methods for integrating biomarkers into population-based, social science research, covering technical as well as conceptual issues associated with biological measurement in naturalistic settings. More information about the Summer Biomarker Institute can be found here: http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/c2s/events/biomarkers.html. CCBAR Director, Stacy Lindau, gave a lecture "Methods development and application: Lessons from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project. "
CCBAR researchers,
led by Dima Qato, PharmD, MPH, with other NIA-funded collaborators
published "Racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular medication
use among older adults in the United States" in Pharmacoepidemiology
and Drug Safety. The article is based on data from Wave I of the
NIA-funded National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, and finds
racial and ethnic disparities in indicated preventive therapies among
older adults at high cardiovascular risk. The publication
abstract can be found
here.
CCBAR
Questions
and
Answers
this Month:
Q: Is there a dried blood spot protocol for
environmental toxins (mercury, cadmium, lead, cotinine)?
A: Such protocols exist,
but they are not particularly sensitive and have been tested mostly on
blood from
infants. Publications on the topic include:
Mercury, cadmium, lead
News
from
the
NEJM,
Nature Journals, Science, BMJ, PNAS and JAMA
Evolutionary
genetics:
Vive
la
digits
Vertebrate sexual behaviour and other traits have been
correlated
with the ratio of the length of the second to the fourth digit, but
what underlies the connection between sex hormones and digit
Life-history
connections
to
rates
of aging in terrestrial vertebrates [Popula...
The actuarial senescence (i.e., the rate of increase in adult
mortality with age) was related to body mass, development period,...
New
approaches
to
population
stratification in genome-wide association ...
Genome-wide association (GWA) studies are an effective approach
for
identifying genetic variants associated with disease risk. GWA studies
can be confounded by population stratification ? systematic ancestry
differences between cases and controls ? which has previously been
addressed by methods that...
[Perspective]
Neuroscience:
Epigenetics
and
Cognitive
Aging
Changes in the epigenetic modification of chromatin may be the
molecular basis for memory decline in aging adults.
Effects
of
Intensive
Blood-Pressure
Control
in
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
In a randomized trial, 4733 patients with type 2 diabetes
mellitus who
were at high risk for cardiovascular events received treatment aimed at
a target systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg or less than
140 mm Hg. At a mean follow-up of 4.7 years, the rates of the primary
end point (nonfata...
Effect
of
B-Vitamin
Therapy
on
Progression
of Diabetic Nephropathy: A
Randomi...
Context Hyperhomocysteinemia is frequently observed in
patients with diabetic nephropathy. B-vitamin therapy (folic acid,
vitamin B6, and vitamin B12) has been shown to lower the plasma
concentration of homocysteine.
Objective To determine whether B-vitamin therapy can slow
progression o...
Coronary
Artery
Calcium
Score
and
Risk
Classification for Coronary Heart Dise...
Context The coronary artery calcium score (CACS) has been
shown to predict future coronary heart disease (CHD) events. However,
the extent to which adding CACS to traditional CHD risk factors
improves classification of risk is unclear.
Objective To determine whether adding CACS to a pred...
Inaugural
Article:
Mechanisms
linking
early
life
stress to adult health outco...
Research relating stress to health has progressed from anecdotal
evidence in the 1930s and 1940s to complex multivariate models that...
Mobile
phones
do
not
raise
risk
of brain tumours in adults, but harms among
h...
Glycated
haemoglobin
A1c
for
diagnosing
diabetes
in Chinese population: cross...
Objectives To evaluate haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in diagnosing
diabetes
and identify the optimal HbA1c threshold to be used in Chinese adults.
Design Multistage stratified cross sectional...
Association
of
Temporal
Trends
in
Risk
Factors and Treatment Uptake With Coro...
Context Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality has
declined substantially in Canada since 1994.
Objective To determine what proportion of this decline
was
associated with temporal trends in CHD risk factors and advancements in
medical treatments.
US
Trends
in
Prevalence,
Awareness, Treatment, and Control of
Hypertension, 1...
Context Hypertension is a major risk factor for
cardiovascular disease and treatment and control of hypertension
reduces risk. The Healthy People 2010 goal was to achieve blood
pressure (BP) control in 50% of the US population.
Objective To assess progress in treating and controlling
hyp...
Population
Trends
in
the
Incidence and Outcomes of Acute Myocardial Infarction
In this large community-based study, the incidence of acute
myocardial
infarction decreased significantly after the year 2000, with an
especially marked decrease in ST-segment elevation myocardial
infarction. A reduction in the case fatality rate was attributed both
to the reduction in ST-segment el...
Apolipoprotein
E
(APOE)
genotype
has dissociable effects on memory and attent...
The 4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is the major
genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but...
Dementia
risk
prediction
in
the population: are screening models accurate?
Early identification of individuals at risk of dementia will
become
crucial when effective preventative strategies for this condition are
developed. Various dementia prediction models have been proposed,
including clinic-based criteria for mild cognitive impairment, and
more-broadly constructed algo...
Biomarkers
and
Aging
in
the
News
Media
NIH
Press
Releases
NIH
and
Wellcome
Trust
Announce Partnership To Support Population-based
Genom...
The National
Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, and the Wellcome Trust, a global charity
based in London, today announced a partnership to support
population-based genetic studies in Africa of common, non-communicable
disorders such as heart disease and cancer, as well as communicable
diseases such as malaria. The studies, to be conducted by African
researchers, will utilize genetic, clinical and epidemiologic screening
tools that identify hereditary and non-hereditary components that
contribute to the risk of illnesses.
NIH-Supported
Study
Finds
Novel
Pathway May Open Doors for New Blood Pressure...
Researchers have
found that increasing certain proteins in the blood
vessels of mice, relaxed the vessels, lowering the animal's blood
pressure. The study provides new avenues for research that may lead to
new treatments for hypertension.
Vitamin D
Status is Not Associated with Risk for Less Common Cancers
Despite hopes
that
higher blood levels of vitamin D might reduce cancer risk, a large
study finds no protective effect against non-Hodgkin lymphoma or cancer
of the endometrium, esophagus, stomach, kidney, ovary, or pancreas. In
this study, carried out by researchers from the National Cancer
Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and many
other research institutions, data based on blood samples originally
drawn for 10 individual studies were combined to investigate whether
people with high levels of vitamin D were less likely to develop these
rarer cancers.
Gene Linked
to Alzheimer's Disease Plays Key Role in Cell Survival
Scientists have
discovered that a gene linked to Alzheimer's disease
may play a beneficial role in cell survival by enabling neurons to
clear away toxic proteins. A study funded by the National Institute on
Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows the
presenilin 1 (PS1) gene is essential to the function of lysosomes, the
cell component that digests and recycles unwanted proteins. However,
mutations in the PS1 gene -- a known risk factor for a rare, early
onset form of Alzheimer's disease -- disrupt this crucial process.
NIH-Supported
Study
Looks
for
Earliest Changes in the Brain That May Lead to ...
Volunteers are
being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle
changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years
before overt symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear. Researchers are
looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems
that affect their daily activities. The study will follow participants
over time, using imaging techniques developed to advance research into
changes taking place in the structure and function of the living brain,
as well as biomarker measures found in blood and cerebrospinal fluid.
STAR METRICS:
New Way to Measure the Impact of Federally Funded Research
A new initiative
promises to monitor the impact of federal science
investments
on employment, knowledge generation, and health outcomes. The
initiative--Science and Technology for America's Reinvestment:
Measuring the Effect of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and
Science, or STAR METRICS--is a multi-agency venture led by the National
Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
Infants
Capable of Learning While Asleep
Newborn infants
are capable of a simple form of learning while they're
asleep, according to a study by researchers funded by the National
Institutes of Health. The finding may one day lead to a test that can
identify infants at risk for developmental disorders that do not become
apparent until later in childhood.
Resilience
Factor Low in Depression, Protects Mice From Stress
Scientists have
discovered a mechanism that helps to explain resilience
to stress, vulnerability to depression and how antidepressants work.
The new findings, in the reward circuit of mouse and human brains, have
spurred a high tech dragnet for compounds that boost the action of a
key gene regulator there, called deltaFosB.
Link
Between
Child
Care
and
Academic
Achievement and Behavior Persists ...
Teens who were
in
high-quality child care settings as young children
scored slightly higher on measures of academic and cognitive
achievement and were slightly less likely to report acting-out
behaviors than peers who were in lower-quality child care arrangements
during their early years, according to the latest analysis of a
long-running study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Trends
Suggest Increase in Cancers of the Lower Stomach for Younger Whites
in...
Cancer of the
lower
stomach has decreased overall in American adults
but has increased in whites age 25-39, a study finds. The work, led by
researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the
National Institutes of Health, is published in the May 5, 2010, issue
of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Endometrial
Stem
Cells Restore Brain Dopamine Levels
Endometrial stem
cells injected into the brains of mice with a
laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over
the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease. The finding
raises the possibility that women with Parkinson's disease could serve
as their own stem cell donors. Similarly, because endometrial stem
cells are readily available and easy to collect, banks of endometrial
stem cells could be stored for men and women with Parkinson's disease.
NIH
Announces
Ten
Awards
for
Centers
for Population Health and Health
Dispari...
The National
Institutes of Health announced today the awarding of 10
new Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities, designed to
better understand and address inequities associated with the two
leading causes of death in the United States -- cancer and heart
disease.
Magnetic
Stimulation Scores Modest Success as Antidepressant
Some depressed
patients who don't respond to or tolerate antidepressant
medications may benefit from a non-invasive treatment that stimulates
the brain with a pulsing electromagnet, a study suggests. This first
industry-independent, multi-site, randomized, tightly controlled trial
of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) found that it
produced significant antidepressant effects in a subgroup of patients,
with few side effects.
NIH
Announcements
Restructured
Application
Forms
and
Instructions
for
Submissions for FY2011 Fu...
Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Change in Application Submission
Package and
Clarification of Research Strate...
Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Correction
on
the
First
Submission Date for Resubmission and Revision Applica...
Notice from the
NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts
Subjective
Well-being:
Advances
in
Measurement and Applications to Aging (R01)
Request for
Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Regional
and
International
Differences
in Health and Longevity at Older Ages ...
Request for
Applications from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Aging Studies in the Pulmonary System
(R01)
Enhancing Peer Review: Clarification
of
Resubmission Policy and Determination of New Application Status
Notice Number: NOT-OD-10-080
Obesity
Policy
Research:
Evaluation
and
Measures
(R01)
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Obesity
Policy
Research:
Evaluation
and
Measures
(R21)
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Obesity
Policy
Research:
Evaluation
and
Measures
(R03)
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Events
The National
Institute on Aging,
in conjunction with the McKnight Brain Research Foundation and the
Foundation
for NIH, will be holding the Second Cognitive Aging Summit to take
place in
The 2011 Annual Meeting will be held March 31-April 2 at the Marriott
Wardman Hotel, Washington, DC.
(Note: The Welcome Mixer is on Wednesday, March 30, 8:30 p.m.)
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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