The Future of Aging · Research Highlights
Chie Wei (Mimi) Fan, MD, a 2009 Beeson Ireland Scholar, was interviewed for a November 2009 New York Times article about using technology to prevent falls in older adults. Dr. Fan used sensors to measure walking patterns of over 600 patients aged 60-94. This information helped her to devise customized medical and exercise programs to eliminate dizziness and falls in participants by over 30%.
Experts have typically agreed that human immune systems weaken as we age, affecting older people’s resistance to viruses such as influenza or the common cold. New research by 2005 Beeson Scholar Daniel Goldstein, MD, suggests that the elderly may actually be more susceptible to viral disease because their immune systems overreact to these infections. A November 19th, 2009, article in The Daily Telegraph highlighted the results of the study, which tested the immune responses of young and old mice to the common herpes virus and found that the virus triggered inflammation, liver damage and death in only the elderly mice. Dr. Goldstein explains that, instead of trying to boost the immune response of elderly patients, "we should try to inhibit certain inflammatory pathways - to prevent susceptibility to viral infections." Dr. Goldstein, whose findings were published in Cell Host and Microbe, is an associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine.
2007 Beeson Scholar Manjula Kurella Tamura, MD, MPH, was featured in an October 15, 2009, USA Today article. The piece focused on her study of older dialysis patients, recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The results of the study, which examined the health of nursing home residents starting dialysis, found a high rate of decline in conjunction with the start of dialysis. Dr. Tamura says these results are important for end-of-life care, as doctors must have "open and honest discussions" about starting dialysis for older adults. Dr. Tamura is an assistant professor in the Nephrology Division at the Stanford University Medical Center.
Research by 2002 Beeson Scholar Michael Schwarzschild, MD, PhD, was featured on October 12, 2009, by several news sources, including BBC News and Bloomberg.com. His study measured levels of urate in the blood of 800 Parkinson’s disease patients, where he found a correlation between a high concentration of urate and slowed progression of the disease. As an antioxidant, urate can work against the processes of oxygen-related cell damage associated with Parkinson’s disease, so this research provides a potential avenue for future treatments. Since increased urate can also cause gout, Dr. Schwarzschild and his colleagues will proceed with further research on how to safely raise urate levels for Parkinson’s therapies. Dr. Schwarzschild is an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.
Research by 2007 Scholar Neil Segal, MD, in the September 2009 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism - Arthritis Care & Research was featured in the health blogs of US News & World Report and Time magazine. Dr. Segal found that women with strong thigh muscles were 50% less likely to experience knee pain that is often associated with osteoarthritis, a leading cause of disability in older adults.
A manuscript by XinQi Dong, MD, a 2008 Beeson Scholar, was selected for the August 5, 2009, special "Violence and Human Rights" issue of JAMA. Dr. Dong's article focuses on elder abuse and self-neglect and mortality, and a special patient education page on the topic of elder abuse was included with the article.
HealthDay News covered a study led by 2007 Beeson Scholar Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD. The study was published in the British Medical Journal and found that taking statin drugs did not lower the risk of pneumonia in older adults. These findings counter earlier claims that statins could treat or prevent infection. The June 16, 2009, HealthDay story was picked up by nearly 100 news media, including Forbes.com, Health.com, MSN Health & Fitness, U.S. News & World Report, and Irish Sun.
With their decision-making abilities impaired, many aging patients with Alzheimer’s are unable to give informed consent to participate in research studies. Beeson Scholars Jason Karlawish, MD (2000), and Kenneth Langa, MD, PhD (2003), investigated the issue of surrogate consent in a recent study published in Neurology. Drs. Karlawish and Langa surveyed older Americans, finding that the majority of subjects would allow a family surrogate to give consent and would participate in surrogate-based research. Since Alzheimer’s research is often stalled by the complicated issue of consent, this study could be an important indicator of the general acceptance of family surrogates and move the process forward. Dr. Karlawish and Dr. Langa’s work was featured in a January 14, 2009, article by Insciences.
A January 21, 2009, CNN article highlighted the research of 1998 Beeson Scholar Alison Moore, MD, MPH. Dr. Moore’s study found that moderate alcohol consumption had positive effects for seniors. By analyzing self-reported data from men and women over 50, Dr. Moore saw that healthy seniors who drank fewer than 15 alcoholic beverages a week had reduced odds for developing physical disabilities or dying in the next five years. Further investigation is necessary to explore the specific cause of this relationship, but researchers suggest that alcohol’s effect of decreasing atherosclerosis or raising good cholesterol levels may explain the connection between alcohol consumption and improved health. Dr. Moore, whose study was recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is an associate professor of medicine in the division of geriatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The research of 2000 Beeson Scholar Scott Small, MD of Columbia University, was cited in a January 6, 2009, New York Times story about links between blood sugar levels and declining memory. Dr. Small led a team of investigators to explore the neurological effects of blood sugar spikes, which appear to influence a particular part of the brain connected to memory-formation. Using MRIs to examine brain activity, researchers found that elevated blood sugar levels corresponded with reduced blood flow in the dentate gyrus, a region of the hippocampus. Not only does this study have implications for understanding the relationship between diabetes and aging, but Dr. Small’s research also emphasizes the importance of physical exercise to regulate glucose levels and care for the aging brain. Dr. Small’s research about memory and aging has also been highlighted in Time and in Sue Halpern’s book, Can’t Remember What I Forgot.
A December 30, 2008, New York Times piece featured Beeson Scholars Mark Lachs, MD, MPH (1995) and Sean Morrison, MD (2000). In the article, Dr. Lachs, from the Weill Medical College, and Dr. Morrison, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, comment on the importance of health care for our aging population. In order to avoid the pitfalls of over- or under-treating older patients, they advocate a comprehensive screening process, taking full account of lifestyle habits and details of health. Drs. Lachs and Morrison recognize the value of proactive health assessment for aging patients with regular care by a primary care doctor, before intense and specialized treatments are necessary.
In a study published in the December 2008 issue of Clinical Interventions in Aging, researchers led by 2005 Beeson Scholar Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, reviewed clinical trials of cholinesterase inhibitors to asses their value in treating behavioral problems exhibited by Alzheimer’s patients. Dr. Boustani and colleagues at Indiana University found that cholinesterase inhibitors, typically prescribed for cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, were also effective in managing patients’ accompanying psychological and behavioral symptoms. The drugs have already been FDA approved, though not many personal doctors know their capabilities, so Dr. Boustani is eager to use this study to connect physicians with progressive treatments for their Alzheimer’s patients. Dr. Boustani’s study findings were profiled in several publications, including Science Daily and U.S. News & World Report.
A November 25, 2008, article in the New York Times profiled the research of 2005 Beeson Scholar Dellara Terry, MD, MPH. Dr. Terry’s investigations showed that older adults whose parents lived 100 years or longer were healthier than others their age and were at much lower risk for heart attacks, strokes, or diabetes. The study monitored the health of centenarian offspring over 3-4 years and found that this group had 78% lower risk for heart attack, 83% lower risk of stroke, and 86% lower risk for diabetes than their peers. These results, recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, are consistent with Dr. Terry’s previous research, which suggested that the avoidance or delay of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors may play an important role in living to a very old age. Dr. Terry is an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, where she co-authored this research with 1998 Beeson Scholar Thomas Perls, MD, MPH.
P. Murali Doraiswamy, MD, chief of the Biological Psychiatry division at Duke University, and a 1996 Beeson Scholar, has been cited by numerous publications, speaking about his work on Alzheimer's disease prevention and early intervention. Articles in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today featured his comments about drug research, tips for memory retention, and other information about early onset dementia. Dr. Doraiswamy has also been highlighted on NPR, AARP "Prime Time Radio," and in Scientific American.
An October 28, 2008, article in Scientific American about the biology of aging for centenarians highlighted the work of AFAR-supported researchers Nir Barzilai, MD, Thomas Perls, MD, MPH, and Judith Campisi, PhD. The piece emphasized the possibility for increased longevity enabled by the current expansion and enrichment of aging research. Dr. Barzilai received a 1994 AFAR Research Grant and a 1997 Beeson Award, Dr. Perls is a 1998 Beeson Scholar, and Dr. Campisi is a 1990 AFAR Research Grant recipient.
The research of Beeson Scholar Scott Small, MD, of Columbia University, was cited in a Time magazine story about memory and aging in May, 2008. Dr. Small is a recipient of a 2000 Paul Beeson Career Development Award in Aging Research.
Research by Cynthia Carlsson, MD, a 2005 Beeson Scholar, found that a drug used to lower cholesterol may also play a role in slowing the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Her research was cited in a March 27, 2008, article in The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin), and demonstrated that the middle-aged children of people with Alzheimer's disease who took 40 milligrams of simvastatin daily had improved brain function over the group taking the placebo. A longer study with higher-dose drugs is now being conducted by Dr. Carlsson, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and medical director of the Memory Assessment Clinic at the William Middleton Veterans Administration Hospital.
2000 Beeson Scholar Gunnar Gouras, MD, appeared on New York City’s WABC-TV on March 26, 2008, commenting about a study linking abdominal fat to dementia. Dr. Gouras noted that abdominal girth could be a sign of poor cardiovascular health, and poor cardiovascular health has been connected to dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Gouras is an associate professor of neurology and neuroscience at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
A study conducted by Nir Barzilai, MD, and colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, found evidence of a gene linked to longevity that is mostly found in short women. The study, published in the March 4, 2008, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found a gene mutation that decreases the activity of an insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which is linked to shorter stature but longer life. Dr. Barzilai’s research may aid in the development of drugs that can decrease growth factor hormone that could slow aging. Dr. Barzilai is a recipient of two AFAR-supported grants: a 1994 AFAR Research Grant and a 1997 Beeson Award. His study findings were profiled in Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Telegraph (UK), and NBC Nightly News.