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I am delighted to introduce the inaugural edition of the Institute of Aging newsletter, Grey Matters. To be published three times a year, and complementing our bimonthly e-bulletin, Grey Matters will celebrate research on aging in Canada, as well as keep you up-to-date on the Institute of Aging's initiatives and future plans.
In this issue we are proud to highlight some of the Institute of Aging's activities and important milestones:
We are indeed grateful for the contributions of the many members of our research community who participated in these initiatives.
While we are featuring several of the Institute's strategic successes, we recognize that the core purpose of the Institute must be kept in view - to enhance the health and well-being of older Canadians. In quest of this goal, the Institute's ongoing challenge is to connect, expand and support this country's relatively small yet highly diverse research community on aging, while identifying strategic themes in research on aging that will produce high returns on investment. As we look to the future, Grey Matters will serve to recognize excellence in research on aging in Canada as well as inform and inspire you as we address these challenges.
Don't hesitate to let us know how we're doing.
Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)
Governing Council of CIHR has recently approved the funding of up to $2.1 million over two years in support of Developmental Phase II of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Gary Catlin, Director of the Survey Operations Division at Statistics Canada, has accepted a two-year secondment to CIHR, to serve as the Executive Director of the CLSA effective September 11, 2006. Gary will work with CLSA's Principal Investigator, Dr. Parminder Raina, Co-Principal Investigators, Dr. Susan Kirkland and Dr. Christina Wolfson, and the national research team toward a 2008 launch of the CLSA.
The CLSA is a large, national, long-term study designed to examine health patterns and trends and to identify ways to reduce disability and suffering among aging Canadians. The CLSA will follow approximately 50,000 Canadian men and women aged 40 and older for a period of at least 20 years. The study will collect information on the changing biological, medical, psychological, social, and economic aspects of their lives. These factors will be studied in order to understand how, individually and in combination, they have an impact on aging.
The CLSA research team includes experts from across Canada in biomedical and clinical research, social sciences, psychology, health services and population health. The CLSA will be one of the most complete studies of its kind undertaken to date, in Canada and around the world.
Regional Seniors' Workshops on Research
The series of Regional Seniors' Workshops on Research held across the country over the past two years concluded with the fifth workshop held in Montreal in April. Through these five community consultations (in the Prairies, the Maritimes, British Columbia and Yukon, Ontario and Quebec), the Institute has hosted over 250 seniors, along with representatives of non-governmental agencies, practitioners and policy makers involved in providing services to seniors. These dialogues allowed participants to find out more about current research in aging and how they can become involved, as well as giving them the opportunity to identify their priorities for health research relevant to aging. We have already established that, while there were some definite regional differences, a few priorities were highly ranked - notably health services and research linked to the housing-care continuum. A consultation with Canadians living in other regions of the North is also planned. The next step will be to synthesize the results from the workshops and formalize an ongoing process for knowledge sharing and engagement of older stakeholders in research processes.
Spa 2006
The inaugural Institute of Aging Summer Program in Aging (SPA) was held in collaboration with the Quebec-based Programme-réseau de Formation interdisciplinaire en recherche Santé et Vieillissement (FormSaV) in June this year. 50 Master's and Doctoral students and Post-Doctoral trainees - half from Quebec universities and half from universities across the rest of Canada - met for four days in the bucolic setting of Jouvence in the Quebec Eastern Townships. English-speaking and French-speaking mentors gave presentations and interactive workshops in both languages on the topics of interdisciplinarity, peer review, writing successful grant proposals, and knowledge transfer. The positive feedback from students identified not only the content of the program but also the opportunity to work closely with skilled mentors, meet other students in aging, and share experiences and knowledge as the major factors in the success of the program. The second SPA is being planned for British Columbia in June 2007. Full application details will be posted on the IA website in January 2007.
Mobility in Aging
The Institute has been advancing its initiative on Mobility in Aging (launched in June 2005) through a series of consultations with various research and user communities..
Mobility encompasses the physical capacity of humans to walk or move themselves and the objects they need for personal well-being within their homes and communities. It also includes the capacity to move others; for older adults, this is often in the context of caregiving. Factors that enhance mobility in aging include the devices that enable mobility (for example, walkers), modes of transport (both personal and public), and policies that facilitate and encourage mobility among older adults (such as housing and community design). In all its meanings, mobility is profoundly influential on the psychological, social and physical health of older adults.
Mobility in Aging supports research that includes basic biology, clinical, health services and population health, and addresses issues from prevention of decline in mobility that often accompanies aging, through to strategies to assist elderly Canadians who suffer from mobility impairments.
Institute Advisory Board
It was with much regret that we said goodbye to the three retiring members, Dr. Sonia Lupien, Mary Ellen Parker and Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, whose contributions to the success of the Institute are gratefully acknowledged.
We are delighted to welcome three new members:
Dr. Louise Demers is an Associate Professor in the School of Rehabilitation at Université de Montréal and a researcher at the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal.
Dr. Demers' research interests involve the development, applicability and study of the psychometric qualities of measurement tools used in rehabilitation and in aging. She takes part in studies that examine the social participation of elderly people deemed to be 'normal' and the impacts of the use of assistive technology on those who are physically incapacitated at home by collecting data from the living environment of the participants. Her work is assisted by a team of research assistants, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, as well as researcher and clinician collaborators.
Gael P. Page is Past President of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. She sits on its Board of Governors, as well as the Executive Committee, and chairs the Organizational Development Committee. As a registered nurse, she currently serves as a clinical consultant in the continuing care field.
Ms. Page worked in the continuing care field for 20 years and remains a strong advocate for hospice palliative care at the national, provincial and district levels. She is currently a member of Health Canada's Strategy on Palliative and End of Life Care, Best Practices and Quality working group, and recently completed her work on the Canadian Council of Health Services Accreditation's Advisory Committee for hospice palliative care standards development. She is a past member of the Quality End of Life Care Coalition of Canada, an organization of 29 national organizations interested in end-of-life care.
Dr. Christopher Patterson is a professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University, and has led the Division of Geriatric Medicine (Department of Medicine) at McMaster, and Geriatric Services at Hamilton Health Sciences, the second largest teaching hospital in Canada.
Dr. Patterson practiced as a general practitioner in Blind River, Northern Ontario, from 1971 until 1976. He then entered residency in Internal Medicine at Queen's University in Kingston, before sub specializing in Geriatric Medicine.
Dr. Patterson's research interests include preventive health care for seniors, including elder abuse and frailty, and various aspects of cognitive disorders. He brings a wide experience of health care for older people, and a genuine desire to improve life for older people through discovery and dissemination of new knowledge.
UBC discoveries may yield new therapies for Alzheimer's disease and dementia in Down syndrome
New possibilities for treating Alzheimer's disease and dementia in Down Syndrome (DS) patients - a currently untreatable condition - have been identified in two related discoveries by a University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) researcher.
A team led by Psychiatry Prof. Weihong Song has found that accumulation of a gene product, called Beta-site APP Cleaving Enzyme 1 (BACE1), is the molecular mechanism that produces the Alzheimer's disease symptoms which affect virtually all DS patients in middle age. He also discovered that a related gene product, called BACE2, may be useful in treating Alzheimer's disease and dementia in DS patients.
The findings were published recently in two papers in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal.
"Now that we've found the molecular mechanism that underlies development of Alzheimer dementia in DS patients, we have a new therapeutic target," says Dr. Song, who is a Canada Research Chair in Alzheimer's disease. "If we can suppress the activity of the BACE1gene - an established process called down regulating - then we can reduce plaque formation in Alzheimer's disease and Down syndrome."
The incidence of Down syndrome is approximately 1 in every 700 births and the exact cause of Alzheimer dementia in Down syndrome is not known.
Dr. Song's group found that dementia symptoms in DS patients are caused by mature BACE1 proteins - a product of the BACE1gene - becoming "stalled" to produce an overabundance of amyloid beta protein. For reasons that are not yet understood, the proteins produced by BACE1 are not mobilized or trafficked through DS brain cells at a normal rate. They accumulate to create significantly higher levels of mature BACE1 proteins and ultimately, the amyloid beta proteins that produce characteristic Alzheimer dementia symptoms.
The process for generating amyloid beta protein in Alzheimer's disease involves a set of enzymes, called beta and gamma secretases, that function as molecular scissors. The secretases snip pieces off a longer protein to produce fragments of amyloid beta protein. Fragments that have been snipped, or cleaved, bunch up to create plaques.
Scientists have known that BACE1 is a beta secretase key to this process, but the mechanism was not known until now.
"Statistics show that 280,000 Canadians aged 65 and over have Alzheimer's," says Dr. Howard Bergman, Chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Aging Advisory Board. "The discovery made by Dr. Song and his team is an important step towards the development of a new therapeutic approach to Alzheimer's disease and dementia for people with Down's syndrome."
Song - a member of the Brain Research Centre at UBC Hospital - says this discovery helped the research team overturn an existing theory about the cause of DS dementia. In a separate paper in the same issue of The FASEB Journal, Song focused on the role of the gene BACE2, previously understood to have a similar function to BACE1.
Scientists had speculated that accumulation of BACE2 was implicated in producing DS dementia because the gene is located on chromosome 21. Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of all, or part, of this chromosome.
Dr. Song discovered that BACE2, despite its similarities to BACE1 (the beta secretase that produces amyloid beta proteins), does not contribute to DS dementia. Instead, it has the potential to treat the disease. He found that BACE2 cleaves amyloid precursor protein at a different site than was previously understood - within amyloid beta proteins. This cleavage precludes amyloid beta protein production outside the cell and the resulting development of neuritic plaques.
"These findings turn previous ideas upside-down," says Dr. Song, who is the Jack Brown and Family Professor and Chair in Alzheimer's Disease at UBC. "We now realize that if we stimulate production of BACE2 we may ultimately reverse plaque formation and have a new therapy for preventing Alzheimer's symptoms."
UBC Media Release, July 25, 2006. The complete article can be found on the UBC website.
Seniors tango their way to fewer falls 30696
In a study by Dr. Patricia McKinley from McGill University, nine of fourteen seniors (aged 62-90) who took tango lessons dramatically reduced their risk of a severe fall, compared to only three of the ten seniors who walked twice a week. All of the volunteers in the study had suffered a fall within the past year and had developed a fear of falling -- one of the biggest factors inhibiting seniors' autonomy. Dancing led to better coordination and balance and to improvements in "working" memory -- tasks such as reordering random letters and numbers in a logical sequence. The memory improvements were significant and lasted for weeks after the end of lessons; less significant improvements in the walking group didn't last past the end of the walking. The study, funded by the CIHR-IA and the Drummond Foundation, focuses on the specificity of exercise for both balance and cognition, tango being an example of a fun activity that is useful and that it is sustainable in the community environment. A report has been submitted to the Drummond Foundation and two articles will be published shortly in scientific journals.
NIH-NIA/CIHR-IA: Post Doctoral Fellowship Program launched
In recognition of the continuing and expanding need to train new researchers in aging research, the Institute of Aging of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR-IA) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH-NIA) joined together to establish a three-year Post Doctoral Fellowship Program for Training in Research on Aging in Canada (TRAC), launched in June 2006. Four awards per year will be offered to U.S. nationals and non-national citizens over the three-year period of the program.
Age-Friendly Cities
The aim of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Age-Friendly Cities project is to engage cities in several countries to make their communities more age-friendly - that is, more accessible and responsive to the specific needs of older persons.
Making cities age-friendly is one of the most effective policy approaches for responding to demographic ageing. In the developed world, three-quarters of older persons live in cities. Although proportionately more older persons live in rural areas in the developing world, rapid urbanization is gradually reversing the picture: large cities already count substantial numbers of older adult residents.
Several Canadian cities have agreed to participate in this project, and there is a Canadian initiative to include rural and remote areas as well as urban centres. Focus groups are being formed to find out from seniors what is needed to make their environments more age-friendly. The results will be compiled by the WHO to produce "Age-Friendly City" guidelines that could be used by cities around the world.
Dr. Melissa K. Andrew was the first winner of the CIHR-IA in Geriatric Research. This is a $1,000 award for the best research presentation at the Canadian Geriatrics Society (CGS) Annual Scientific Meeting by a Medical Resident in a core residency training program. Dr. Andrew, from Dalhousie University, received the prize for her research presentation "Does social vulnerability predict mortality in older adults?". The selection committee included three national society Presidents: Howard Bergman for CGS, John Campbell for the New Zealand Geriatrics Society, and Jane Potter for the American
Dr. Andrew receiving the Réjean Hébert Prize
from Dr. Anne Martin-Matthews
Geriatrics Society. Dr. Andrew also received an Age Plus prize from the Institute of Aging in 2005 and is clearly a rising star in Canadian geriatric research.
Congratulations to CIHR-IA -funded researcher, Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose of the University of British Columbia who has received the Alice Wilson Award from the Royal Society of Canada for her research into the role of cognitive and physical function on movement planning and execution in older adults. Dr. Liu-Ambrose will be presented with a medal and an award for extraordinary achievement in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences at a ceremony in Ottawa on November 19th.
Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS)
Dr. Anne Martin-Matthews, Institute of Aging Scientific Director, Dr. Max Cynader, Director of the Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia and an IA Advisory Board member, and Dr. Yves Joanette, Director of the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal and former IA Advisory Board member, were inducted into the CAHS on September 27th in Ottawa.
Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG) Award for Contribution to Gerontology
Dr. Réjean Hébert, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke and former IA Scientific Director (2000-2003), received this award at the CAG Annual Meeting, October 26th-28th, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of aging.
CIHR-IA Recognition Prize in Research in Aging
Awardees are identified by CIHR as the highest ranking candidate in the field of aging in each of the CIHR New Investigator, Fellowship and Doctoral Research Awards. The prize consists of a supplement to the research allowance component of $5,000 for the New Investigator Award, $2,500 for each of two Fellowship Awards, and $1,000 for the Doctoral Research Award. The prizes for 2005-06 were awarded at the Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG) Annual Meeting, October 26th-28th.
The 2005-06 winners are Dr. Carsten Wrosch, Dr. Ratan Bhardwaj, Dr. Brent Richards and Loren Martin.
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| Carsten Wrosch Concordia University New Investigator Award |
Ratan Bhardwaj University of Toronto Fellowship Award |
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| Brent Richards McGill University Fellowship Award |
Loren Martin University of Toronto Doctoral Award |
Research on Aging Advancement Program (RAAP)
Support for activities such as workshops, consensus meetings, network and partnership development, and other activities intended explicitly for the advancement of Canadian aging-related health research and its translation.
Applications are accepted 3 times a year. Next application deadline: January 4, 2007.
NIH-NIA/CIHR-IA Post Doctoral Fellowship Program: Training in Research on Aging in Canada (TRAC)
Open to citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, with a PhD or equivalent in a health science field, who wish to join multidisciplinary research teams in research on aging in Canada.
Applications are accepted 3 times a year. Next application deadline: December 5, 2006
The Betty Havens Award for Knowledge Translation in Aging
This award honors the distinguished life and career of the late Betty Havens, a pioneer in gerontology who made significant contributions to health services research and its translation, towards improving the quality of life of older Canadians. The award is for activities at the local or regional level.
Application deadline: May 1, 2007
For more information, visit the IA website. Application details for 2007 will be posted there soon.
Age Plus Award
The CIHR Institute of Aging Age Plus Award recognizes excellence in research on aging carried out in Canada. It is awarded to the author of a published, scientific article on aging. The Age Plus Award is aimed at graduate and postdoctoral students and clinical residents from all disciplines, working in the field of aging.
For complete information on all IA funding opportunities, visit the IA website
See the IA Calendar of Events
Only 200 certified geriatricians currently work in the Canadian health care system: one-third the number considered essential for the present population of older adults. Annually, an average of only four Canadian medical students select geriatrics as a clinical specialty.
Please let us know if you have news to share, or if you have any comments on our newsletter, or if you would like more information about the Institute of Aging.
Institute of Aging
University of British Columbia
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Tel: 604-822-0905
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Email : Institute of Aging
