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December 2012

 

 

News



Health Outcomes Measures for Older Adults with Chronic Conditions

A recent article published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society presented recommendations from a NIA panel that sought to address chronic conditions among older adults. The panelists found that "older persons with multiple chronic conditions should complete a brief initial composite measure that includes general health; pain; fatigue; and physical health, mental health, and social role function, along with gait speed measurement." The completed composite measure scores would be indicative of the total symptom burden experienced by older adults with multiple chronic conditions. Individuals with higher scores would require short follow- up measures that would target specific symptom burdens (i.e., depression and anxiety). The panelists concluded,"routine outcome assessment of individuals with multiple chronic conditions could facilitate system-based care improvement and clinical effectiveness research."

  

Full Story  

 

Moderating the Role of Aging in the Relationship Between Pain and Cognition

In the European Journal of Pain a recent article sought to examine the effects of aging on the relationship between pain and cognition. The study consisted of 22 young adults (ages 20-28) and 24 older adults (age 65 +) who completed various psychological, memory, and physical-function tests. The authors found that "higher clinical pain ratings have been associated with better cognitive performance in older chronic pain patients." The authors conclude that "in older adults, most inverse effects of pain on cognition are either no longer present or may even be reversed."

 

Full Story   

 

The Effects of Vitamin-D Deficiency and Race on Knee Pain among Older Adults

A study published in Arthritis and Rheumatism evaluated the relationship between vitamin-D insufficiency, race and pain sensitivity among older adults. The study consisted of 94 participants with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, of which 45 were African American and 49 were Caucasian. Each participant was required to "complete a questionnaire on knee osteoarthritis symptoms and undergo quantitative sensory testing, which involved measures of sensitivity to heat-induced and mechanically induced pain." The authors found that African American participants had "significantly lower levels of vitamin-D compared to whites, demonstrated greater clinical pain, and showed greater sensitivity to induced pain." The results from this study indicate that vitamin-D deficiency may increase the risk for knee osteoarthritis pain among African Americans.

 

Full Story 

  

Symptom Burden among Chronically Ill Homebound Elders

A recently published study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society evaluated symptom burden among chronically ill homebound elders. The study involved 318 participants (age 80 and older) with completed Edmonton System Assessment Scale (ESAS) scores. The most commonly reported symptoms among participants were loss of appetite, lack of well-being, tiredness, and pain. The symptoms with the highest scores were depression, pain, appetite, and shortness of breath. The authors found that "participants were more likely to have severe symptom burden if they self-reported their ESAS, had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or diabetes mellitus with end-stage organ damage, or had a Charlson Comorbidity Index greater than 3."


Full Story

 

 Upcoming Events

The following list includes upcoming seminars, meetings, and conferences that  focus on aging, pain, or general research methods


December Work-in-Progress Seminar  

TRIPLL will host a WIP seminar on December 19, 2012. To attend,  

please email Marcus Warmington at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to participate in future WIPs. 

Movement & Meditation to Ease Chronic Pain
When living with pain, it is easy to find yourself avoiding daily activities, opting to stay still and avoiding unnecessary movement. Unfortunately, not moving your muscles and joints often leads to more pain. Let's get moving! Join us for this gentle class that will utilize the movements of yoga and stretching in addition to breathing awareness and meditation to help ease stiffness, aches and pains.
For more information: www.hss.edu/pped or (212) 606-1613.

The Faculty Development Collaborative Program in Geriatrics

is a training program designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of health professions faculty in inter-professional teaching, leadership, project development and program implementation in geriatrics. This course will prepare health professions faculty from multiple disciplines to utilize contemporary evidence-based educational strategies, inter-professional team approaches, and innovative evaluation processes in teaching collaborative patient- centered care.

  

Geriatric Medicine for Primary Care Physicians
Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to: 1. Differntiate between inflammatory and non-inflammatory joint pain and the differential diagnosis of each category 2. Describe the technique of joint aspiration, joint injection, and synovial fluid analysis 3. Demonstrate a musculoskeletal examination 4. Evaluate and treat osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, spinal pain, regional pain syndromes, osteoporosis, and gout 5. Use current evidence to design treatment strategies for rheumatoid arthritis.

Hotel Del Coronado
California
December 7-9, 2012
More Info

Association for Gerontology in Higher Education 39th Annual Meeting & Educational Leadership Conference- Waves of Change: Charting the Course for Gerontology Education

The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (aka AGHE) is the international leader in advancing education on aging and is the only institutional membership organization devoted primarily to gerontology and geriatrics education since 1974.  AGHE's mission is two-fold:  (1) To advance gerontology and geriatrics education in academic institutions; and (2) To provide leadership and support of gerontology and geriatrics education faculty and students at education institutions.

 

St Petersburg
Florida
February 28 - March 3, 2013
More Info

AAGP 2013 Annual Meeting  

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) is the only national association that has products, activities and publications, which focus exclusively on the challenges of geriatric psychiatry. Practitioners, researchers, educators, students, the public-anyone interested in improving the mental health of the elderly-have relied on AAGP since 1978 as the key driver for progress for elderly mental health care. Whether you want to advance your career, engage the research community, or shape how science and society treat the elderly, AAGP has the right resources to help you.

LA Live - Marriott,
California
March 14-17, 2012
More Info

Funding Opportunities

 

Pain-Related Funding

 

 

Pilot and Feasibility Clinical Research Grants in Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (R21)
"Program Announcement (PA) Number: PAR-10-282
This FOA, issued by National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) of the National Institutes of Health, encourages exploratory/developmental clinical research related to the prevention or treatment of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, conditions, and/or injuries. The Pilot and Feasibility Clinical Research Grants Program is designed to allow initiation of exploratory, short-term clinical studies, so that new ideas may be investigated without stringent requirements for preliminary data. The short-term studies should focus on research questions that are likely to gather critical preliminary data in support of a future, planned clinical trial.  They can include testing new or prevention strategies, a new intervention, or unique combinations of therapies.  A high priority is the use of such studies to help stimulate the translation of promising research developments from the laboratory into clinical practice."

To Register 

 

Mechanistic Studies of Pain and Alcohol Dependence (R01)
"Program Announcement (PA) Number: PA-11-267
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages applications that propose to conduct mechanistic studies on the relationship between alcohol drinking, alcohol dependence and pain. An association between chronic pain conditions and alcohol dependence has been revealed in numerous studies with episodes of alcohol abuse antedating chronic pain in some people and alcohol dependence emerging after the onset of chronic pain in others. Pain transmission and alcohol's reinforcing effects share overlapping neural substrates giving rise to the possibility that chronic pain states significantly affect alcohol use patterns and promote the development of dependence and addiction. In addition, long term alcohol intoxication and alcohol dependence induce pain symptoms and may exacerbate chronic pain arising from other sources. The objective of this FOA is to understand genetic, pharmacological and learning mechanisms underlying the association between the propensity to drink alcohol and pain responses."

 
To Register 

 

Mayday Fund of New York
"The Mayday Fund is dedicated to alleviating the incidence, degree, and consequence of human physical pain.

The Mayday Fund's current grant-making targets are projects that result in clinical interventions to reduce the toll of physical pain, pediatric pain, pain in non-verbal populations, and pain in the context of emergency medicine. Mayday will also continue to be proactive in its commitment to promote networking between veterinary and human medicine, especially in an effort to inform measurements of pain in non-verbal populations. Finally, the trustees of the Mayday Fund wish to be nimble enough to respond as special opportunities present themselves. Grants are made only to public charities and educational institutions officially recognized as such by the IRS. The Mayday Fund concentrates its activities in the United States. On occasion, grants have been made to Canadian organizations when the project has an effect that reaches beyond Canada. Grants cannot be made to individuals."

 

Applications are continuous and no specified due date is applied.

 

 

Age-Related Funding

 

 

Translational Research at the Aging/Cancer Interface (TRACI) (R01)

Program Announcement (PA) Number: PA-12-136

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages translational research proposals in the overlapping areas of human aging and cancer, linking basic and clinical research relevant to the care of older cancer patients through both bench-to-bedside and bedside-to-bench approaches. Ultimately, information from the research supported by this initiative should improve the health and well-being of elderly patients at risk for, or diagnosed with, cancer and decrease the functional impairment and morbidity associated with cancer in this population.    

 

T1 Translational Research:  Novel interventions for prevention and treatment of age-related conditions (R21)

Program Announcement (PA) Number: PAS-11-280

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages exploratory/developmental R21 research projects to accelerate the pace of development of novel therapeutics involving biologics, pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches for preventing and treating key health issues affecting the elderly.   For the purposes of this FOA, T1 translational research on aging is defined as the application of basic and clinical biomedical findings towards the development of new strategies for prevention and treatment of age-related pathologies. For projects proposing basic research that is being conducted in animal models, the potential to treat a clinical age-related pathology must be clearly stated in the proposal.  Direct relevance of the data to a clinical aging condition must be established and clearly stated in the application.


Translational Research to Help Older Adults Maintain their Health and Independence in the Community (R01)

Program Announcement (PA) Number: PA-11-123

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Administration on Aging (AoA) invite applications using the R01 award mechanism for translational research that moves evidence-based research findings towards the development of new interventions, programs, policies, practices, and tools that can be used by community-based organizations to help elderly individuals remain healthy and independent, and living in their own homes and communities.  The goal of this FOA is to support translational research involving collaborations between academic research centers and community-based organizations with expertise serving the elderly (such as city and state health departments, city/town leadership councils, and Area Agencies on Aging) that will enhance our understanding of practical tools, techniques, programs and policies that communities across the nation can use to more effectively respond to needs of their aging populations.

 

Mechanism Mediating Osteoarthritis in Aging
Program Announcement (PA) Number: PA-12-018
"This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) invites applications on research employing genetically defined and modified mouse models, other animal models such as dogs and monkeys or archived human joint tissues to explore the biological mechanisms underlying osteoarthritis.  Osteoarthritis is a significant problem in the elderly population, and a major contributor to mobility limitations that are endemic in this population and, therefore, is an important element in the research missions of NIA and NIAMS. Inflammatory processes are evident in advanced stages of osteoarthritis, and are likely to be major contributors to the chronic pain that is the most common symptom of the condition.  However, for the purpose of this announcement, osteoarthritis is distinguished from other joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, in which inflammation arising from autoimmunity is the primary cause of tissue damage. The root causes of joint degeneration in osteoarthritis remain unclear. Research efforts in the past have focused primarily on the more advanced stages of osteoarthritis, but relatively little is understood about the initial changes triggering disease etiology and early progression.  This FOA is intended to encourage and accelerate the characterization of new or underutilized models and the testing of hypotheses that will lead to an improved understanding of the mechanisms mediating osteoarthritic progression."

 To Register

Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on Multidisciplinary Studies in HIV/AIDS and Aging (R03)
Notice Number: NOT-AG-12-004
"The National Institute on Aging (NIA) announces a trans-NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on Multidisciplinary Studies in HIV/AIDS and Aging. This FOA will encourage applications proposing to study HIV infection, HIV-associated conditions, HIV treatment, or biobehavioral or social factors associated with HIV/AIDS in the context of aging and/or in older adults. The research areas encouraged in this FOA are based, in part, on the recommendations of the Working Group on HIV and Aging convened by the NIH Office of AIDS Research. These areas include, but are not limited, to the following:
*    Cellular and molecular mechanisms of HIV in aging
*    Biomarkers or clinical indices of HIV-associated pathology
*    HIV-Associated Non-AIDS (HANA) conditions / Co-morbidities
*    HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND)
*    Intervention studies (prevention or treatment)
*    Frailty/Vulnerability
*    Social, behavioral, and mental health studies
The FOA is expected to be published in Spring 2012 with non-standard receipt dates beginning in Summer 2012. Multiple other NIH Institutes and Centers are expected to participate."

Please direct all inquiries to
:
Basil Eldadah, MD, PhD
Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 3C307
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: 301-496-6761
Email:[email protected]

Network and Infrastructure Support for Development of Interdisciplinary Aging Research (R24)

Program Announcement (PA) Number: PA-12-064
"The purpose of this FOA is to provide network and infrastructure support to foster development of novel interdisciplinary research approaches on important topics in aging research. This FOA will use the NIH Resource-Related Research Project (R24) mechanism to facilitate research networks that will advance specific scientific goals through activities such as meetings, conferences, small scale pilots, short term training opportunities, and visiting scholar programs, and dissemination activities to encourage growth and development in these interdisciplinary areas."

 To Register

National Science Foundation funding grant "General & Age-Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE)"
"The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software for persons with disabilities.  Research may be supported that is directed to the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment.  Areas of particular recent interest are disability-related research in neuroscience/neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics.  Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering and scientific knowledge and not on incremental improvements.  Proposals should advance discovery or innovation beyond the frontiers of current knowledge in disability-related research.  Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director Ted Conway at [email protected], or call (703) 292-7091, prior to submitting a proposal."


 To Register 

 

The New Investigator Awards in Alzheimer's Disease
"Funded by The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation, the major goal of this partnership program is to support important research in areas in which more scientific investigation is needed to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The program will also serve to encourage junior investigators in the United States and Israel to pursue research and academic careers in the neurosciences, and Alzheimer's disease in particular. Projects in basic and translational research related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) that are clinically relevant, will be considered. Projects that focus on healthy brain aging are also considered. For one of the awards, priority may be given to an investigator with a research interest related to healthy brain aging. Areas of research could for example include learning and memory, nutrition, exercise, cardiovascular risk factors, as they relate to the brain and the aging process. The applicant must be an independent investigator with assigned independent space as assigned by the departmental chair or equivalent official, and must be within the first ten years of receiving a doctoral degree by July 1, 2011. Exceptions to the ten year rule may be requested for unusual circumstances by emailing an NIH-style bio-sketch to AFAR at [email protected] .The proposed research must be conducted at any type of not-for-profit setting in the United States or Israel."

  

To Register 

 

 

 


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The Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL) is an NIA funded Edward R. Roybal center with a focus on persistent pain due to both cancer and non-cancer related causes. TRIPLL is a collaboration between investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell-Ithaca, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Hospital for Special Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Visiting Nurse Service of New York and Council of Senior Centers & Service of NYC, Inc.

 

For more information on TRIPLL please contact Marcus Warmington at [email protected]