Texas Tech University
Health Sciences Center
J Taylor Harden, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN
Assistant to the Director for Special Populations
National Institute on Aging
March 2010
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True or False
 The world’s children under age 5 outnumber people aged 65 and over.
 More than half the world’s older people live in the industrialized nations of Europe, North America,
Japan, and Australia.
 Current demographic projections suggest that 35% of all people in United States will be at least 65 years old by the year 2050.
 The percentage of older people in rural areas is generally lower than in large cities.
 There are more older widows than widowers in virtually all countries.
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NIH’s MISSION:
Science in pursuit of knowledge to improve health
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NATIONAL INSTITUES OF HEALTH
National Institute on Aging
Organizational Structure
Intramural Research Program
Dr. Dan Longo
Office of the Director
Dr. Richard J. Hodes
Dr. Marie A. Bernard
Office of Administrative Management
Lynn Hellinger
Division of Extramural Activities
Dr. Robin Barr
Division of Aging Biology
Dr. Felipe Sierra
Division of Behavioral and Social Science
Dr. Richard Suzman
Division of Neuroscience
Dr. Marcelle Morrison-Bogorad
Division of Geriatrics and
Clinical Gerontology
Dr. Evan Hadley
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National Institute on Aging
(Fiscal Years 2003 – 2009)
* Current dollars – dollar value of a good or service in terms of prices prevailing at the time the good was sold or service rendered.
* Constant dollars – dollars value adjusted for inflation to demonstrate “real” increases. Determined by dividing current dollars by an appropriate price index, a process generally known as “deflating.”
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2008 Success Rates
Activity Code Applications Reviewed Awarded
R01 977 213
R03 219
R15 31
R21 559
45
6
76
Award Amount 1
$86,829,586
$2,858,321
$995,329
Success Rate 2
21.8%
20.6%
19.4%
$13,783,889 13.6%
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YOUNG CHILDREN AND OLDER PEOPLE PROJECTED INCREASE IN GLOBAL POPULATION
AS A PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL POPULATION BETWEEN 2005 and 2030, BY AGE
United Nation Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects. The
2004
Revision . New York: United Nations, 2005 in Why Population Aging Matters: A Global Perspective at www.nia.nih.gov/ResearchInformation/ExtramuralPrograms/BehavioralAndSocialResearch/GlobalAging.htm
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Evans, et al. Arch Neurol, Vol. 60, 2003 .
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Evans D , et al. JAMA , Vol. 262, No. 18, 1989.
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HIPPOCAMPUS:
Rats: 1 week exercise (male sprague-dawley, 3 months)
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Berchtold et al., 2002
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Aging, Fitness and Neurocognitive
Function
2600
2400
2200
2000
1800
1600
1400
Switching Pre-
Exercise
Switching Post-
Exercise
Walking Toning
Kramer, A.F. et al. Nature, Vol. 400, July 29,1999
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Age-adjusted Incidence of Dementia
According to Distance Walked
18
15
12
9
6
† †
3
0
All dementia
†Significant excess vs men who walked >2 miles/day (p<0.05)
Distanced walked
<0.25 mile/day
0.25 to 1 miles/day
>1 to 2 miles/day
>2 miles/day
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Abbott et al., JAMA, 2004
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ROS
Mitochondria
IGF / Sirtuins
LAG
Epigenetics
Omics
Chronic
Stress
Signaling
Chaperones
Comorbidity
Stress Response
Immunosenescence
Metabolism Inflammation
Cytokines
Aging
Endocrine
Bones & cartilage Genetics Tissue Aging
Proliferative
Homeostasis
Cardiovascular
Secretome
Stress-Induced
Apoptosis
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Harrison et al., 2009
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Areas of Emphasis
 Health Disparities
 Aging Minds
 Increasing Health Expectancy
 Health, Work, and Retirement
 Interventions and Behavior Change
 Genetics, Behavior, and the Social Environment
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 Improvements in:
Since 1982,
– Recovery from heart disease, stroke disability rate for
– Deafness declined by 30%
– Vision impairment
– Osteoporosis
 Bone and joint health
American life expectancy – New, more effective increased by ~6 classes of drugs for arthritis years
– Improvements in joint replacement technology
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Behavioral
Science
Economics
Genetics
Neuroscience
Smoking
Cessation
Moderate
Drinking
Increase
Exercise
Financial
Planning
Medication
Adherence
Relevant science is rapidly emerging but is not optimally focused on behavior or common basic issues underlying many problem behaviors.
Using emerging new fields behavioral economics, cognitive neuroscience, behavior genetics
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Policy
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12
10
8
6
6.4
Number of Chronically Disabled
Americans
Age 65+
(in millions)
If disability rate did not change since 1982
10.0
9.5
9.2
8.3
7.5
7.0
Based on declining disability rate since 1982
7.1
7.0
7.1
7.4
4
1982 1989 1994
Source: National Long Term Care Survey (Kenneth Manton, Ph.D.)
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1999 2005
(estimated)
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Marco Pahor
Physical Exercise to Prevent Disability
2 U01 AG022376-05

Phase 3 multi-centered randomized, controlled clinical trial building on the successful results of the
Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders
(LIFE) pilot study.

Primary aim is to assess long-term effects of interventions on mobility disability and secondary aims are to assess effects on cognitive function, serious falls, ADLs, and cost-effectiveness.
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100
Familial Determinants of Human Longevity
98
92
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Courtesy: Dr. Nir Barzili
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Dr. Francis S. Collins’ Thematic Priorities
 Genomics and Other High Throughput Technologies
 Translating Basic Science to Better Treatments
 Using Science to Enable Health Care Reform
…Health Disparities
 Global Health Research
 Reinvigorating Biomedical Research Community
– Microbiome
– Small molecule screening
– Stem cell research
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Human Microbiome Project (HMP)
NIH Roadmap for Medical Research http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp
By leveraging both the metagenomic and traditional approach to genomic DNA sequencing, the Human Microbiome Project will lay the foundation for further studies of human-associated microbial communities.
The project has set the following goals:
• Determining whether individuals share a core human microbiome
•
Understanding whether changes in the human microbiome can be correlated with changes in human health
• Developing the new technological and bioinformatic tools needed to support these goals
• Addressing the ethical, legal and social implications raised by human microbiome research.
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Opportunities for Research and NIH
What is the best use of the Common Fund to address NIH priorities?
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 Science …its defining traits are… heuristics, the opening of avenues to new discovery and interpretation; and consilience, the interlocking of causal explanations across disciplines. Researchers from disciplines of the natural sciences have entered a broad, mostly unexplored domain of causally linked phenomena:
 Cognitive neuroscientists
 Behavioral geneticists
 Evolutionary biologists/evolutionary anthropologists
 Environmental scientists
Wilson EO, 1998, Science 279 (5358):2048-2049
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Future Directions
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Future Directions
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Future Directions
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Future Directions
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Future Directions
 NIA Summer Institute on Aging Research
July 20211 Queenstown, MD
Applications Due March 2011
 NIH Training Institute on Health Behavior Theory
July 25 - August 1, 2010 Madison, WI
Applications Due on April 9, 2010
 NIH State-of-the-Science Conference
Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline
April 26 –28, 2010 Bethesda, Maryland
 NIA Grants Technical Assistance Workshop
November 18-19, 2010 New Orleans
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
National Institute on Aging Information Center
Toll-free information line, 1-800-222-2225
Web site (English & Spanish) -www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation
 NIA Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center (ADEAR)
Toll-free information line, 1-800-438-4380
Web site (English & Spanish) -www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers
 NIHSeniorHealth.gov
Joint project with National Library of Medicine
Aging related health information in a senior-friendly format
Topics include hearing loss, exercise, arthritis, glaucoma, and more
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NIH
-Listens@NIH.GOV
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National Institute on Aging
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