Feature Channels: Aging

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New research from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) identifies a protein that can extend the natural lifespan of C. elegans, a microscopic roundworm commonly used for research on aging and longevity. The findings, published today in Cell Reports, expand what we know about the aging process and may lead to new ways to delay the onset of human age-related diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

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Brown University researchers may have discovered what’s responsible for discrepant findings between dozens of fundamental studies of the biology of aging. A drug commonly used in research with C. elegans worms, they report, has had unanticipated effects on lifespan.

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As men age, their testosterone levels decrease, but prior studies of the effects of administering supplements of the hormone to older men have been inconclusive. Now, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and 12 other medical centers in the United States have shown that testosterone treatment for men over the age of 65 improves sexual function, walking ability and mood.

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Scientists at the University of Georgia have shown that a hormone instrumental in the aging process is under genetic control, introducing a new pathway by which genetics regulates aging and disease.

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With seniors accounting for 12 percent of the world’s population­–and rapidly increasing to over 22 percent by 2050–it’s important to understand the challenges faced by people as they age, and recognize that there are preventive measures that can place you or a loved one on a path to healthy aging.

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As men age, their sexual function, vitality and strength can decline, but researchers had not yet established whether testosterone treatment is actually beneficial. Now, a team that included UF Health researchers has established testosterone’s benefits in a study published yesterday (February 17) in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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The majority of older drivers want to continue driving as long as they are able to safely, according to a report written by a University of Warwick academic. The report, called Keeping Older Drivers Safe and Mobile, was commissioned by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

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The first study to measure the full spectrum of age-related damage to all five senses found that 94 percent of older adults in the United States have at least one sensory deficit, 38 percent have two, and 28 percent have three, four or five. Deficits in multiple senses were strongly associated with age, gender and race.

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As men age, their testosterone levels decrease, but prior studies of the effects of administering testosterone to older men have been inconclusive. Now, research shows that testosterone treatment for men over 65 improves sexual function, walking ability and mood, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine by team researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and twelve other medical centers in the United States, in partnership with the National Institute on Aging.

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Older people who undergo cancer surgery are more likely than their younger counterparts to experience injuries and health issues such as falling down, breaking bones, dehydration, bed sores, failure to thrive and delirium.

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Researchers believe that adults whose eyes are slow to adjust to the dark have a greater risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.

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People who feel older than their peers are more likely to be hospitalized as they age, regardless of their actual age or other demographic factors, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Men have many reasons to add high-impact and resistance training to their exercise regimens; these reasons include building muscle and shedding fat. Now a University of Missouri researcher has determined another significant benefit to these activities: building bone mass. The study found that individuals who continuously participated in high-impact activities, such as jogging and tennis, during adolescence and young adulthood, had greater hip and lumbar spine bone mineral density than those who did not.

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Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have found that a daily dose of beetroot juice significantly improved exercise endurance and blood pressure in elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF).

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Building on previous studies, Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated significant health improvements in the vascular system of mice following repeated treatments to remove senescent cells. They say this is the first study to show that regular and continual clearance of senescent cells improves age-related vascular conditions – and that the method may be a viable approach to reduce cardiovascular disease and death. The findings appear online in Aging Cell.

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Age significantly impaired the ability of rats to get rid of excess sodium when exposed to a high-salt diet, according to research published in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. Findings could have implications for salt consumption in the elderly; suggest older people could be at greater risk for the negative consequences of eating a high-salt diet.

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A recent study published in the November issue of the journal Aging showed minimal metabolic side effects after continuous, long-term treatment with encapsulated rapamycin in a marmoset (monkey) model. Research results lead to efficacy study.

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You’ve seen the late night commercial come across your screen. An older man is on a date with a beautiful woman in a romantic setting. A big smile stretches across his face as he looks in her eyes, but something is secretly bothering him. Cue the voiceover about erectile dysfunction.

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Researchers at Mayo Clinic have shown that senescent cells – cells that no longer divide and accumulate with age – negatively impact health and shorten lifespan by as much as 35 percent in normal mice. The results, which appear today in Nature, demonstrate that clearance of senescent cells delays tumor formation, preserves tissue and organ function, and extends lifespan without observed adverse effects.

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The finding by Stony Brook University researchers, published in Structure, may be a foundation to better understanding the cellular process and age-related disease.

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Latest Research Highlights from ACSM

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Why does a Great Dane have a shorter lifespan than a pug? The answer lies in a complex relationship between energy usage and lifespan. That relationship is quickly being unraveled through the use of numerical modeling by a researcher at Missouri S&T.

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A new study finds that providing zinc supplements to older adults in nursing homes increased their serum zinc levels and improved their immune response, providing potential protection against infection. The research group’s previous work found that nursing home residents had low zinc levels.

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Using real-time recording of cellular movement, biologists at the University of Iowa have discovered how tumors form. Cancer cells reach out and grab other cells, and as little as five percent cancerous cells are needed for tumor formation. Findings could lead to more precise cancer testing.

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Migraine headaches heat up as women approach menopause, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC), Montefiore Headache Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Vedanta Research. The findings were published online this week in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, a publication of the American Headache Society.

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Physicians have known for years that patients respond differently to vaccines as they age. There may soon be a new way to predict and enhance the effectiveness of vaccinations, in particular the hepatitis B vaccine.

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“The Mayo Clinic National Health Check-Up takes a pulse on Americans’ health opinions and behaviors, from barriers to getting healthy to perceptions of aging, to help identify opportunities to educate and empower people to improve their health,” says John T. Wald, M.D., Medical Director for Public Affairs at Mayo Clinic. “In this first survey, we’re also looking at ‘health by the decades’ to uncover differences as we age.”

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Individuals who participated in high challenge activities like quilting and photography showed enhanced brain activity, according to a new Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience report.

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Research indicates anti-bacterial strategies need to be tailored to the age of the patient. Aging is accompanied by a chronic state of low-level inflammation -- sometimes called ‘inflamm-aging’

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According to new research summarized by California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute senior scientist Steven Cummings, MD, and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Harvard Medical School, contrary to common beliefs, relatively high doses of vitamin D may increase the risk of falls.

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Finding provides alternative explanation for the free-radical theory of aging and suggests new role for mitochondria in affecting physiology.

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A study in aged mice shows that excess folic acid intake causes lowered immune function because important immune cells, called natural killer (NK) cells, are less effective.

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Mayo Clinic researchers have taken what they hope will be the first step toward preventing and reversing age-related stem cell dysfunction and metabolic disease, including diabetes. The researchers discovered methods for reducing these conditions in naturally aged mice.

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A proof-of-concept, phase 2 trial by an international research team has found promising results for a myostatin antibody in treating the decline in muscle mass and power associated with aging.

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Elite runners do not experience the muscle weakening associated with aging as non-athletes do. A new study published in American Journal of Physiology—Cell Physiology examines if their superb fitness is because their muscles have not aged.

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An international study of about 43,000 people has significantly expanded the number of genetic factors known to play a role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss among people age 50 and older. Supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, the findings may help improve our understanding of the biological processes that lead to AMD and identify new therapeutic targets for potential drug development.

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A Kansas State University gerontologist offers tips on coping during the holidays with a family member who has dementia.

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A scientist from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded approximately $2 million from the National Institutes of Health to study the impact of aging and age-related disease on the inner workings of a single type of nerve cell.

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Some decline in memory and cognitive function is a normal part of aging, but what if it could be prevented? Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Washington University in St. Louis have launched a major clinical trial to investigate whether mental decline in seniors can be slowed or halted through exercise and other health-related interventions.

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An upcoming study unveils new measures for aging, to be published in the journal Population and Development Review on Dec. 15, 2015. Researchers and authors of the study, Warren Sanderson, a Professor of Economics at Stony Brook University, and Sergei Scherbov, a project leader at an Austrian research institute, suggest that conventional measures of population aging --- or the “old age dependency ratio (see definition below*)” --- are biased and misleading and that aging is multidimensional phenomena. Sanderson and Scherbov say that there are many more characteristics that should be considered that go beyond the conventional measures of aging, which are based on only one characteristic --- chronological age.

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Researchers from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and other institutions are reporting the discovery of the first broad spectrum drug that can potently kill senescent (or aging) cells in culture and effectively clear the cells in animals by specifically targeting a pathway that is critical for the survival of senescent cells.

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More than 100 industry executives, association leaders, elected local and state policy makers, private and public sector economists, and other allied professionals are expected to attend. Five speakers will address critical issues in relation to agribusiness

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FAU’s Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center has received a grant for a new project to expand and adapt existing evidence-based services and supportive programs of a university-based, dementia capable system to meet identified gaps in services to targeted populations.

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A new study finds some surprising ways in which women’s health at midlife is connected to when they had their first child and to their marital history.

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Advancing age leads to more medical problems. It’s not uncommon to see seniors suffering from a host of ailments — and using a range of drugs to deal with them. Approximately two thirds of seniors in Canada regularly take five or more prescription medications. A group of researchers is working to reverse the trend through a new project, "Deprescribing Guidelines for the Elderly."

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Prescription opioid abuse has reached epidemic proportions, but new research led by UB psychiatric nursing researcher Yu-Ping Chang found motivational interviewing, a form of behavioral counseling, is an effective tool at curbing misuse.

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Older adults who lived in an independent living community that uses sensor technology and onsite care coordination to maintain residents’ health stayed longer at the community than seniors who live in other senior housing across the nation. Length of stay is important because it indicates that residents’ health remains stable enough for them to continue living independently. The technologically enhanced care coordination could serve as a cost-effective care model for improving the health and function of older adults.

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How fast elderly people walk may be related to the amount of amyloid they have built up in their brains, even if they don’t yet have symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the December 2, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.