FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4/2/98
CONTACT: Carol Ryff, (608) 262-1818
COLLOQUIUM EXPLORES NEW FRONTIERS OF AGING AND HEALTH
MADISON - The University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute on Aging, celebrating its 25th year on campus, will hold a colloquium and two public lectures April 23-24 exploring new research insights into successful aging.
"The program will provide an update on some of the institute's most innovative and influential research programs," said Carol Ryff, interim director of the institute. "Our work focuses not only on understanding and treating diseases associated with aging, but on successful strategies for promoting health and resilience in older Americans."
Highlighting the events will be a dinner lecture April 23 by Daniel Perry, executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research in Washington, D.C. Perry directs the nation's leading advocacy group for research to improve the health and independence of older Americans.
Perry's reception and dinner lecture, titled "Human Aging: Medicine's Final Frontier," will begin at 6 p.m. at the Memorial Union.
The April 24 program will be organized around three emerging research thrusts of the institute, pulling together research expertise from across campus. All events will be held at Memorial Union. They include:
* Wisconsin longitudinal studies on aging, 9 a.m. The research team is using data from four major longitudinal studies to identify age-related changes across the life course, from health and psychological well-being to social issues.
The longitudinal studies include a look at aging in non-human primates; the impact on lifelong caregiving on parents of children with mental retardation; a study of eye problems based in Beaver Dam; and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which includes nearly 9,000 graduates of state high schools.
* Nutrition and aging, 10:45 a.m. Researchers will discuss the effects of diet and nutrition on bone loss, eye disease, and the impact of caloric restriction on aging.
* Resilience and aging, 1:30 p.m. Researchers are finding a significant portion of the aging population is staying physically and psychologically healthy in the face of major life challenges. Four UW-Madison faculty will present research on some of the "protective factors" that promote vitality in older Americans.
In addition to colloquia, a noon emeritus lecture will be given by Henry Lardy, a UW-Madison emeritus professor of biochemistry and the Enzyme Institute. Lardy will discuss his research on DHEA, a hormone that has great potential for stimulating weight loss, fighting disease and improving memory.
The institute has a network of more than 100 UW-Madison faculty affiliates across 45 departments. The mission is to promote the health and well-being of the nation's growing aging population, through teaching, research and service.
According to U.S. Census data, only 4 percent of the U.S. population in 1900 was age 65 or older. Early in the next century, an estimated 20 percent of the country will be 65 and older.
Ryff said this demographic shift is making the institute's focus on health and quality of life more crucial. "Americans can now expect to live almost a quarter of their lives in retirement," she said.
Pre-registration is required for Perry's dinner lecture and for the noon lunch with Lardy, but is not required for the April 24 colloquium and emeritus lecture. For more information, contact Kay Smith with the Institute on Aging, at (608) 262-1818.
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- Brian Mattmiller, (608) 262-9772
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