Aging, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Nutrition, Weight Research / 28.02.2015

William Mair, Ph.D Assistant Professor Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases Harvard T. H Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: William Mair, Ph.D Assistant Professor Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases Harvard T. H Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Mair: Dietary restriction, the reduction of food intake without malnutrition has been known for 80 years to prolong lifespan in organisms ranging from single celled yeast to non human primates, and early signs suggest improvement of metabolic parameters in patients undergoing clinical trials. However, negative side effects associated with low calorie intake remain, and compliance and lifestyle factors make it an unappealing therapeutic. Since calorie restriction (CR) can have remarkable protective effects against multiple age onset diseases in mouse models - ranging from cancer to neurodegeneration to metabolic disease - finding molecular mechanisms though which calorie restriction functions might provide novel therapeutic targets that promote healthy aging. Using a model system, the nematode worm C. elegans, we show that perception of energy intake in the nervous system may be as critical for the effects of low energy on aging as actual calorie intake itself. Animals expressing an active form of a protein called AMPK, which is a cellular energy sensor, were long lived despite eating normally but this longevity could be turned off or on by changes to a neurotransmitter in just a few neurons. This suggests that therapeutic targets that modulate the perception of energy status in the nervous system might provide novel ways to gain the benefit of calorie restriction and promote healthy aging. (more…)
Aging, AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 20.02.2015

Thomas W. Buford, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Clinical Research Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida College of Medicine Director, Health Promotion Center University of Florida Institute on AgingMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas W. Buford, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Clinical Research Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida College of Medicine Director, Health Promotion Center University of Florida Institute on Aging Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Buford: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of data collected from over 1000 older adults upon their entry into the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study. Briefly, participants were recruited into the LIFE Study who were over 70 years of age, sedentary, and had mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine, at baseline prior to their participation in the study interventions, the association between daily physical activity habits and risk of major cardiovascular events (i.e. heart attack and coronary-related death). The study utilized accelerometers, devices designed to identify and quantify human movement, to measure participant’s daily activity. Predicted risk of cardiovascular events was determined using a risk score established in the Framingham Heart Study. As identified by accelerometry measures, participants spent on average 70% of their waking hours being sedentary. The major finding of the study, however, was that even extremely low-level activity was associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile. For every 25-30 minutes a participant was sedentary per day, predicted risk was 1 percent higher. Conversely, But activity identified as slightly above sedentary — which could be light housework or slow walking — was associated with higher levels of the more beneficial kind of cholesterol, HDL, in people with no history of heart disease. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Inflammation / 15.02.2015

Dr. Jeremy Van Raamsdonk Laboratory of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease (LAND), Center for Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Department of Translational Science and Molecular Medicine, Department of Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jeremy Van Raamsdon PhD Laboratory of Aging and Neurodk egenerative Disease (LAND), Center for Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Deptment of Translational Science and Molecular Medicine, Department of Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan,Dep. of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Van Raamsdonk : The free radical theory of aging is one of the most widely accepted theories of aging. This theory suggests that reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are also known as free radicals, cause a type of damage, called oxidative damage, that accumulates over time to cause the functional decline associated with aging. ROS have also been proposed to play a role in many diseases including neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. However, recent work has demonstrated that ROS are not necessarily detrimental. ROS perform functional roles in the body and thus it is possible to have too little ROS. We previously showed that increasing ROS by decreasing the levels of an antioxidant enzyme called superoxide dismutase (SOD) does not decrease lifespan even when all of the SOD genes are removed. We also showed that in some cases treatment with an antioxidant, such as Vitamin C, can lead to decreased lifespan. This finding is consistent with human clinical trials in which it has not been possible to show a beneficial effect of antioxidants on longevity. In this paper we further examine the relationship between ROS and aging. We use a simple genetic model organism, the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, which has been used extensively in aging research, to determine how location impacts the effect of ROS on lifespan. We used a genetic approach to increase the levels of ROS in different parts of a cell and found that location is crucial in determining the effect of ROS on lifespan. Mildly increasing the levels of ROS in the mitochondria increases lifespan, while increasing ROS in the cytoplasm has the opposite effect of decreasing lifespan. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Memory, Nature, Nutrition / 09.02.2015

Ashok K. Shetty, Ph.D. Professor and Director of Neurosciences Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Temple, TX
Research Career Scientist, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS), Temple, TXMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ashok K. Shetty, Ph.D. Professor and Director of Neurosciences Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Temple, TX
Research Career Scientist, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS), Temple, TX Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Prof. Shetty: Hippocampus is a region in the brain important for maintaining functions such as learning, memory and mood. However, this region is highly vulnerable to aging and brain insults. Previous research has shown that diminished function in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus is one of the key reasons for memory impairments seen in old age. Dentate gyrus is also one of the few regions in the brain where neural stem cells generate new neurons on a daily basis, also referred to as "adult neurogenesis". Studies have suggested that a significant fraction of newly born neurons mature, get incorporated into the existing hippocampus circuitry and contribute to learning, formation of new memories, and normal mood. However, with aging, the dentate gyrus shows decreased function with some conspicuous structural changes, which include reduced production of new neurons, diminished microvasculature implying reduced blood flow, and occurrence of hypertrophy of astrocytes and activated microglia, signs of chronic low-level inflammation. Because alterations such as reduced neurogenesis, decreased blood flow and brain inflammation can contribute to memory and mood impairments, the idea that drugs that are efficacious for mitigating these changes may preserve memory and mood function in old age has emerged. Such drugs may be prescribed to the aging population if they are efficacious for maintaining normal cognitive and mood function in old age with no or minimal side effects. Medical Research: What is the rationale for choosing resveratrol for preventing age-related memory dysfunction in this study? Prof. Shetty:  Administration of resveratrol, a naturally occurring polyphenol found in the skin of red grapes, red wine, peanuts and some berries, appeared suitable for counteracting age-related detrimental changes in the hippocampus. This is because, previous studies have shown that resveratrol has ability to promote the formation of new capillaries (through pro-angiogenic effects) and to suppress oxidative stress and inflammation (via antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects) with no adverse side effects. Other studies have also reported that resveratrol can mediate extension of the life span and delayed onset of age related diseases. More importantly, a recent human study suggested that a reasonably lower dose of resveratrol intake for 26 weeks is good enough to improve memory performance as well as hippocampus functional connectivity in 23 healthy overweight older individuals (Witte et al., J. Neurosci., 34: 7862-7870, 2014). (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Bone Density, FASEB / 03.02.2015

Dr. Jean-Pol Frippiat Stress, Immunity and Pathogens Laboratory at Lorraine University Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, FranceMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jean-Pol Frippiat Stress, Immunity and Pathogens Laboratory Lorraine University Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France  What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Frippiat: Osteoporosis is associated to spaceflight. Consequently, we wondered whether changes in bone micro-structure induced by a ground-based model of spaceflight, hindlimb unloading (HU) that simulates some of the effects of spaceflight on mice, induces changes in B lymphocyte production in the bone marrow. To this end, we analyzed both bone parameters and the frequency of cells of the B lineage in the bone marrow of young, old and HU mice. We found that HU leads to a decrease in both bone micro-structure and the frequency of B cell progenitors in the bone marrow. A major block at the pro-B to pre-B cell transition was observed indicating a decrease in the formation of B cells in the bone marrow. Interestingly, the modifications in B cell production were similar to those observed in aged mice. These findings demonstrate that mechanical unloading, to which astronauts are subjected during spaceflight, results in a decrease in B cell differentiation that resemble age-related modifications in B lymphopoiesis. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Salt-Sodium / 19.01.2015

Andreas Kalogeropoulos, MD MPH PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) Emory University School of Medicine Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute Atlanta GA 30322MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andreas Kalogeropoulos, MD MPH PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) Emory University School of Medicine Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute Atlanta GA 30322 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Kalogeropoulos: There is ongoing debate on how low should we go when it comes to dietary sodium (salt) restriction recommendations. In this study, we examined the association between self-reported dietary sodium intake and 10-year risk for death, cardiovascular disease, and heart failure in approximately 2,600 adults 71-80 years old. The subjects (women: 51.2%; white: 61.7%; black: 38.3%) were participants of the community-based Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study, which is sponsored by NIH and focuses on aging processes, i.e. was not specifically designed to address the issue of dietary salt intake. Also, it is important to note that salt intake was self-reported (not objectively measured) using a food frequency questionnaire, which underestimates salt intake. Keeping these limitations in mind, we did not observe a significant association between self-reported sodium intake and 10-year mortality, cardiovascular disease, and heart failure. Ten-year mortality was lower in the group reporting 1500–2300 mg daily sodium intake (30.7%) compared to those reporting daily intake less than 1500 mg (33.8%) or over 2300 mg (35.2%); however, this difference was not statistically significant. The 10-year event rates for cardiovascular disease (28.5%, 28.2%, and 29.7%) and heart failure (15.7%, 14.3%, and 15.5%) were also comparable across the <1500-mg, 1500-2300-mg, and >2300-mg dietary sodium intake groups. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, JAMA, Lifestyle & Health / 19.01.2015

Jane Wardle University College London MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jane Wardle University College London Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Wardle: Previous studies have shown that couples tend to have similar health behaviours to one another, but no studies had compared having a partner who takes up a healthy behaviour (e.g. quits smoking) with having one whose behaviour is consistently healthy (e.g. never smoked). Nor have there been other studies in the older age group – our participants were over 60 on average.  We used data from 3722 couples participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to explore this issue for three behaviours: smoking, physical activity, and weight loss. For each behaviour, we found that when one partner changed their behaviour, the other partner was more likely to make a positive change, and the effect was stronger than having a partner whose behaviour was consistently healthy (i.e. never smoked/always exercised). (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Frailty / 17.01.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexander Voukelatos BSc, BA, MA(psych), PhD Healthy Populations Program Manager Health Promotion Sydney Local Health District and Conjoint Lecturer School of Public Health and Community Medicine University of NSW Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response:Falls in older people has been a significant public health issue in high income countries for several decades now. We know that if current trends continue, given that more people will be living for longer, falls will be an even bigger issue in the not too distant. Falls are not an inevitable part of ageing, and in fact many falls can be prevented relatively simply by increasing physical activity. For over 15 years we've known that physical activity is one of the most effective ways of reducing the risk of falls in older people living in the community; since the publication of the first Cochrane review on Interventions for preventing falls in the elderly by Gillespie and colleagues. [1]  I know that Health Departments here, in Australia, and in New Zealand - as I suspect has been the case in many high income countries - have invested a lot of resources over the past few decades into reducing falls-related hospital admissions in older people. Much of this going into promoting and funding physical activity programs for older people. However, this investment has had very little if any impact on falls-related hospital admissions in older people. There may be several reasons we haven't seen any difference in these rates. In New South Wales - Australia's most populous state -  we know that physical activity rates amongst older people have actually risen by about 15% between 1998 and 2005,[2] the most popular activity by far being walking,[3] yet we haven't see any corresponding change in falls-related hospitalization rates. Perhaps there has not been enough time for these programs to have made an impact on hospitalization rates, or perhaps the change in physical activity levels is insufficient to make an impact on these rates. Another possibility could be that while we've seen an increase in physical activity in older people perhaps its not the kind of physical activity that results in a reduction in falls. Sherrington and colleagues [4] reviewed effective physical activity interventions for preventing falls in older people and found they had several elements in common: a) the physical activity included balance challenging exercise i.e. exercises taking participants to the limits of their stability, b) at least 50 hours of accumulated activity was needed, and c) no walking was included in the exercises. So we know not all types of physical activity will be equally effective in reducing the risk of falling. There is some disagreement in the literature about walking. There are several studies that included walking as part of the intervention and showed a reduction in falls in older people. Other studies supported the conclusions made by Sherrington that walking is not associated with a reduction in falls. All of these studies included walking as a component of an intervention which makes it difficult to figure out what effect walking specifically has on falls rates. This is were our study comes in. We wanted to investigate the effectiveness of a walking program on falls in older people, specifically sedentary older people, who we presumed would get the most benefit from becoming more physically active. We developed a walking program specifically for sedentary older people, that they could do themselves in their own time, at their preferred locale. The aim of the program was to get participants walking for at least 150 minutes per week at a brisk pace. The program comprised of four parts: the first part focused on increasing the frequency of walks, the second part focused on getting participants to walk for at least 150 minutes per week, followed by walking for 150 minutes at a brisk pace, while the final part focused on supporting participants in maintaining their walking levels and incorporating walking as part of their daily activities. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Dermatology / 03.01.2015

David Granville, BSc, PhD, FAHA Professor, University of British Columbia Scholar of the Royal Society of Canada Director, GEM Facility, Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital Founder and CSO, viDA Therapeutics, Inc. Vancouver, BC, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: David Granville, BSc, PhD, FAHA Professor, University of British Columbia Scholar of the Royal Society of Canada Director, GEM Facility, Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital Founder and CSO, viDA Therapeutics, Inc. Vancouver, BC, Canada Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Granville: My background is in cardiovascular research. In particular, how age affects blood vessels and how age affects mechanisms of blood vessel and heart injury and repair. We became interested in skin aging during a study in which we were studying the role of a protein degrading enzyme known as Granzyme B in atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and aging. In these studies, we were using a genetic mouse model that is prone to accelerated aging, and knocked out Granzyme B. Although we were initially focused on the blood vessels, we also found that Granzyme B-deficient mice exhibited younger-looking skin. As we started to look into this, we became aware that UV light can induce the skin cells to produce Granzyme B. As sunlight is believed to be responsible for 80-90% of preventable skin aging, we generated a solar-simulated light box (with the similar ratios of UVA/UVB to sunlight) to assess whether Granzyme B played a role in UV-induced skin aging (aka photoaging). We exposed the mice to repetitive, low dose UV three times per week for 20 weeks. After 20 weeks we observed that Granzyme B deficient mice exhibited fewer wrinkles. We then wanted to look histologically and biochemically into how Granzyme B was affecting skin morphology. Granzyme B deficient mice exhibited greater collagen density compared to mice that possessed Granzyme B. As we looked into the mechanism in more detail, we determined that Granzyme B was cleaving a protein known as decorin. Decorin is responsible for collagen fibrillogenesis and assembling collagen into tight bundles. Loss of decorin is associated with a loss of collagen tensile strength. Interestingly, decorin also protects collagen from destruction by a protein-degrading enzyme known as MMP1. We showed in the study that by breaking down decorin, Granzyme B renders collagen susceptible to MMP1-mediated degradation. In addition, we showed that Granzyme B-fragmentation of another protein, fibronectin, led to the upregulation of MMP1 in skin fibroblasts. In summary, the paper showed that UV induced Granzyme B expression in the skin and showed that this enzyme contributes to the breakdown of extracellular matrix proteins and formation of wrinkles. A link to the Aging Cell publication: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acel.12298/pdf (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Nature, Scripps / 27.12.2014

Paul Schimmel, Ph.D. Professor The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Laboratories for tRNA Synthetase Research Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paul Schimmel, Ph.D. Professor The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Laboratories for tRNA Synthetase Research Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Schimmel: Resveratrol (RSV) is thought to provide health benefits by activating a protective stress response. In the paper we described a new, previously missed mechanism for its action. This mechanism is activated at much lower concentrations of resveratrol than previously described or imagined. Consequently, other mechanisms, which appear to act at higher concentrations of resveratrol, are layered over a preexisting foundation set by the newly revealed mechanism. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, FASEB / 11.12.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jane Tarry-Adkins BSc Biochemistry Research Assistant University of Cambridge · Institute of Metabolic Science

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: From epidemiological and animal studies, it has been known for several years that a suboptimal in utero environment that causes low birth weight combined with accelerated postnatal growth is strongly linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However underlying molecular mechanisms for this phenomenon, known as ‘developmental programming’ are still unknown. In this study, we used a rat model where animals are born small because their mother ate a low protein diet during pregnancy but grow quickly during lactation when they are suckled by a control diet fed mum. These ‘recuperated’ rats displayed indices of accelerated aortic cellular aging and damage which was associated with a deficit in coenzyme Q (CoQ); (the most abundant endogenous antioxidant in the body), compared to offspring of a normal birth-weight. When these ‘recuperated’ offspring were supplemented with a clinically relevant dose of coenzyme Q, this corrected these markers of aortic cellular aging and aortic damage. Importantly, measurement of CoQ in white blood cells (WBCs) a clinically accessible tissue demonstrated a coenzyme Q deficit in these ‘recuperated’ offspring. Importantly, this strongly correlated with aortic CoQ levels. Furthermore, we also showed a highly significant relationship between CoQ levels and aortic telomere length in WBCs, suggesting that low WBC CoQ levels can predict short aortic telomeres, and therefore susceptibility to aortic disease. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Mediterranean Diet / 05.12.2014

Immaculata De Vivo PhD Associate Professor Harvard Medical School Director, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center High Throughput Genotyping Core Facility. Channing Division of Network Medicine Boston, MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Immaculata De Vivo PhD Associate Professor Harvard Medical School Director, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center High Throughput Genotyping Core Facility. Channing Division of Network Medicine Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. De Vivo: Our study found that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with longer telomeres. Following a diet closer to the Mediterranean diet, can prevent accelerated telomere shortening. Our unique contribution to the literature is that we provide a potential molecular mechanism, preventing telomere shortening. Telomeres are bits of DNA that protect your chromosomes. MedicalResearch: Is telomere shortening reversible? Dr. De Vivo: Telomere shortening is a biological process, the shorten with age. However, lifestyle choices can help to prevent accelerated shortening. Fruits, vegetables, olive oil and nuts – key components of the Mediterranean diet have well known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that could balance out the “bad effects” of smoking and obesity. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews / 28.11.2014

Prof. Takeo Watanabe The Fred M. Seed Professor Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences Brown UniversityMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Takeo Watanabe The Fred M. Seed Professor Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences Brown University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Watanabe: In the current study also supported by NIH, we obtained surprising results. That is, older people learn what younger people do not learn. We asked subjects to do a letter identification task at the center of a screen while another stimulus was presented in the background. This background stimulus contained a group of dots moving in one direction with noises and had nothing to do with the task. Therefore the motion was task-irrelevant. If the motion is clearly perceived, learning on the motion as task-irrelevant did not occur when subjects were college students. However, older people ended up increasing sensitivity to and, therefore learned, such task-irrelevant motion. This might sound as if the older brain worked better than the younger brain in visual perceptual learning. However, that may not be the case. Our brain capacity is limited. If our brain learned items that are not relevant to a given task and therefore are unimportant to us, there would be the risk of such unimportant items replacing important information which has already existed in the brain. Thus, learning of task-irrelevant and therefore unnecessary information could be harmful and decrease the efficiency of learning of what is important. (more…)
Aging, Memory, NYU, Weight Research / 24.11.2014

Stephen D. Ginsberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor Departments of Psychiatry and Physiology & Neuroscience New York University Langone Medical Center Center for Dementia Research Nathan Kline Institute Orangeburg, NY 10962MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephen D. Ginsberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor Departments of Psychiatry and Physiology & Neuroscience New York University Langone Medical Center Center for Dementia Research Nathan Kline Institute Orangeburg, NY  10962 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Ginsberg: We tested the hypothesis that long-term calorie restriction positively alters gene expression within the hippocampus, a critical learning and memory area vulnerable in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. To test this hypothesis, we conducted experiments on female mice that were given food pellets 30% lower in calories than what was fed to the control group. The mice ate fewer calories derived from carbohydrates. Analyses were performed on mice in middle and old age to assess any differences in gene expression over time. Our data analysis revealed that the mice that were fed a lower calorie diet had fewer changes in approximately 900 genes that are linked to aging and memory. (more…)
Aging, Lipids / 10.11.2014

Sofiya Milman, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Divisions of Endocrinology and Geriatrics Albert Einstein College of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sofiya Milman, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Divisions of Endocrinology and Geriatrics Albert Einstein College of Medicine   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Milman: Aging is a major risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, dementia, and diabetes. Yet, individuals with exceptional longevity delay the onset of most diseases and often escape from age-related illnesses altogether. Exceptional longevity is an inherited trait. A unique cholesterol profile has been previously associated with longevity and specific genetic variations. This profile included elevated levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or “good” cholesterol and large HDL particles. The present study explored whether elevated HDL cholesterol levels and genes that control HDL cholesterol can predict survival in individuals age 95 years or older. The study found that higher levels of HDL cholesterol were related to longer survival in women, but not in men. Higher HDL cholesterol level was also seen in individuals without cognitive problems and diabetes. On the other hand, both men and women with larger HDL particle size and higher levels of APOA1, a protein component of HDL cholesterol, exhibited longer survival. Variants in two genes, the CETP and APOA1, were related to higher HDL cholesterol levels. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care / 06.11.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Amalavoyal Chari PhD Department of Economics, University of Sussex Brighton UK Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Chari: It is well-known that in the United States, informal (unpaid) caregiving by family members and friends is the primary source of long-term care for the elderly population: Recent estimates indicate that nearly 1 in 5 adults in the United States provides care to an elderly relative or friend over the age of 50. Informal care is not really “free”: Rather, it diverts caregivers’ effort from other productive activities, and the value of these displaced activities is the opportunity cost of informal elder-care. Estimates of this cost have been limited by the lack of nationally representative data with detailed information to allow an assessment of the value that caregivers attach to time and time spent providing care. Our study utilizes new and unique data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) to remedy this deficit, and to provide careful, up-to-date estimates of the opportunity costs of informal eldercare in the United States. We find that informal care is mainly provided by working-age adults, who consequently bear most of the economic burden in terms of opportunity costs. We find that the price tag for informal caregiving of elderly people by friends and relatives in the United States comes to $522 billion a year. Replacing that care with unskilled paid care at minimum wage would cost $221 billion, while replacing it with skilled nursing care would cost $642 billion annually. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 22.10.2014

Professor Emrah Düzel Director, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience University College LondonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Emrah Düzel Director, Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, OvG Univ. Magdeburg, Germany Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience University College London Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Professor Düzel: We found that even in old age, intensive and long-term (3 months) aerobic exercise can improve blood flow in the hippocampus, a brain structure that is of critical importance for memory.  The increase in blood flow is evident during a resting state and this means that the exercise improves the overall perfusion of the hippocampus. Such effects had previously only been reported in young adults. As previously observed in young adults, the change in blood flow after exercise is related to the improvement of specific memory skills. We found the closest relationship between improved blood flow and recognition memory for complex objects. This is interesting because this type of memory is likely to benefit from “pattern separation”, a process that in animal studies of exercise is tightly associated with hippocampal neurogenesis. However, we also found that the exercise-related improvement in hippocampal blood flow and in recognition memory was absent in the older seniors of our study cohort. Those  who were beyond 70 did not show any improvement. We reasoned that this may have been due to higher levels of stress in the older seniors. Therefore, we investigated whether elevated serum cortisol levels dampened the benefits of exercise in the older seniors. But this was not the case making it unlikely that stress levels can account for these findings. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Insomnia / 13.10.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jen-Hao Chen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Health Sciences University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Chen: In this study, we mapped four commonly-reported insomnia symptoms (feeling rested when waking up, having trouble falling asleep, waking up during the night, waking up too early and not being able to fall asleep again) to direct assessment of sleep characteristics in the general population of U.S. older adults. While we know older adults frequently complain about their sleep, we know little about how these complain reflect older adults’ actual sleep outcomes. Using innovative actigraphy data of 727 older adults aged 62-91 from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, we found that two of these four common report of insomnia symptoms did not match specific objective sleep characteristics as these questions intends to index. The question of feeling rested was not related to any objective sleep characteristic. The question of difficulty falling asleep was not related to the objective measure of time to fall sleep but was related to other objective sleep characteristics. For waking up during the night question, high frequency was associated with more wake time after sleep onset and numbers of wake bout (but was also related to other objective sleep characteristics). For waking up too earlier question, answer of this question was related to earlier wake up time. But again, other objective sleep characteristics also predicted frequency of waking up earlier. In sum, many of the relationships and non-relationships found in this study were unexpected. Findings suggested that these widely used questions did not related to older adults’ sleep outcomes as exactly as the wording suggested. Thus, while older adults’ report of these questions are related to objective sleep characteristics in some ways, insomnia symptoms and objective sleep characteristics did not complete match each other as expected. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 30.09.2014

Associate Professor Dafna Merom Ph.D Physical Activity and Health University of Western Sydney Penrith NSW AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Associate Professor Dafna Merom Ph.D Physical Activity and Health University of Western Sydney Penrith NSW Australia   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Merom: In a cohort of 1667 older Australian men (mean age 76.8 years) data on incident falls were  collected every four months by telephone interview. We compared the rate of falling over 48 months of follow-up of  men who participated in  golf, Calisthenics, lawn balls, aerobic machines and swimming.  We  found that only swimming was associated with 33% reduction in falls occurrence. We also found that swimmers performed better on balance tests in our baseline measurements. In particular on the postural stability test and for  those whose leisure activity was  only swimming, apart from walking and other lifestyle activities. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension / 20.09.2014

Xuemei Sui, MD, MPH, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science Division of Health Aspects of Physical Activity Arnold School of Public Health University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208Xuemei Sui, MD, MPH, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science Division of Health Aspects of Physical Activity Arnold School of Public Health University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sui: First, blood pressure is inversely associated with cardiorespiratory fitness levels among men. People in higher fitness categories had lower blood pressure than those in lower fitness categories. Second, fitness is a strong effect modifier for the systolic blood pressure aging trajectory. A higher fitness level can significantly delay the natural age-associated increase in blood pressure. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Frailty / 11.09.2014

Professor Mark L. Wahlqvist, M.D., Ph.D. Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan National Defense Medical Center, School of Public Health, Taiwan Monash Asia Institute, Monash University Melbourne, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Mark L. Wahlqvist, M.D., Ph.D. Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan National Defense Medical Center, School of Public Health, Taiwan Monash Asia Institute, Monash University Melbourne, Australia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Wahlqvist: Poor appetite and dietary quality as judged by diversity separately (each by about 50%) and together (by about 80%) increase the mortality risk in older persons living in the community. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews / 08.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Benedict Truman Associate Director for Science CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Truman: In 2008, healthy life expectancy, which isthe number of years a person is expected to live in good or better health after a particular age, varied by sex, race/ethnicity and geographical regions in the United States. In each of four U.S. census regions, females were expected to live longer and healthier lives than males; non-Hispanic whites were expected to live shorter but healthier lives than Hispanics; and non-Hispanic whites were expected to live longer and healthier lives than non-Hispanic blacks. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, BMJ, Heart Disease / 28.08.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Philip Haycock, PhD Post-Doctoral Research Assistant MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit University of Bristol Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Haycock: We found that shorter telomeres were significantly associated with risk of coronary heart disease and that the association was independent of conventional vascular risk factors, including age, sex, body mass index, smoking, history of diabetes, blood pressure and lipid markers. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Genetic Research / 26.08.2014

Dr. Manuel Serrano PhD Tumour Suppression Group CNIO, Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Manuel Serrano PhD Tumour Suppression Group CNIO, Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Serrano: We investigated the contribution of rare genetic variation to human exceptional longevity (EL, individuals with ≥100 years of age) by exome-sequencing long-lived siblings in three different families where exceptional longevity clustered. We found only one gene that harbored rare variants that was likely to contribute to human longevity across all three families and this gene was the Apolipoprotein B gene (APOB). We further found that the frequency of these rare APOB variants associated with familial exceptional longevity was greater in a cohort of 206 nonfamilial cases of exceptional longevity compared to the control population, though this association did not reach statistical significance. In addition, we found rare variants in many genes within individual families that are likely to contribute to human longevity given previous studies in animals. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Sleep Disorders / 03.07.2014

Dr. June Chi-Yan Lo Research Fellow Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School SingaporeMedicalResearch.com: Interview with: Dr. June Chi-Yan Lo Research Fellow Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lo: The Duke-NUS study examined the data of 66 older Chinese adults, from the Singapore-Longitudinal Aging Brain Study. Participants underwent structural MRI brain scans measuring brain volume and neuropsychological assessments testing cognitive function every two years. Additionally, their sleep duration was recorded through a questionnaire. Those who slept fewer hours showed evidence of faster brain aging and decline in cognitive performance. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, JAMA / 12.05.2014

Richard D. Semba, MD MPH W. Richard Green Professor of Ophthalmology The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD 21287MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Richard D. Semba, MD MPH W. Richard Green Professor of Ophthalmology The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD  21287 MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Semba: Resveratrol levels in older adults are not related to the risk of heart disease or cancer and are not related with lifespan. These findings were made in the InCHIANTI Study, a rigorously conducted study of human aging that is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Chemotherapy, JNCI / 30.03.2014

Hanna Sanoff MD, MPH Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Department of Medicine University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NCMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hanna Sanoff MD, MPH Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Department of Medicine University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sanoff: We measured p16, a protein that increases with cellular aging, in blood cells of women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. We found that a standard course of chemotherapy led to an increase in p16 expression equivalent to what we have previous seen in people over the course of 10-15 years of chronological aging. This increase persisted in cancer survivors an average of three and half years after treatment. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews / 21.01.2014

Paula A. Rochon MD, MPH, FRCPC Vice President, Research, Women's College Hospital Senior Scientist, Women's College Research Institute Professor, Department of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with Paula A. Rochon MD, MPH, FRCPC Vice President, Research, Women's College Hospital Senior Scientist, Women's College Research Institute Professor, Department of Medicine University of Toronto, Ontario Canada MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Rochon: Our main findings are that there are now more than 1800 centenarians in Ontario. Among those over 100 years of age, 60 per cent are 101 years of age or older. In addition, most centenarians are women (85 per cent), and this percentage increases to 90 per cent among those who are 105 years of age and older. (more…)