Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences

Background: A growing number of studies are using modified treadmills to train reactive balance after trip-like perturbations that require multiple steps to recover balance. The goal of this study was thus to develop and validate a low-tech reactive balance rating method in the context of trip-like treadmill perturbations to facilitate the implementation of this training outside the research setting. Methods: Thirty-five residents of five senior congregate housing facilities participated in the study...

Increased adiposity, through adipocyte hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia, characterizes aging and obesity. Both are leptin-resistant states, associated to disturbed lipid metabolism, reduced insulin sensitivity and inflammation. Nevertheless, fat tissue dysfunction appears earlier in obesity than in normal aging. In contrast, lipodystrophy is accompanied by diabetes, and improving the fat cell capacity to expand rescues the diabetic phenotype. Fat tissue dysfunction is extensively studied in the diet-induced obesity, but remains relatively neglected in the aging-associated obesity...

Background: A goal of gerontology is discovering aging phenotypes that reflect biological aging distinct from disease pathogenesis. Biomarkers strongly and independently associated with mortality and which statistically attenuate chronologic age could be used to define such a phenotype. We determined the association of a Biomarker Index (BI) with mortality and compared it to a validated Physiologic Index (PI) in older adults. Methods: The indices were constructed in the Cardiovascular Health Study, mean (SD) age 74...

Dysregulation of tissue renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is involved in oxidative and inflammatory processes observed in major aging-related diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson´s disease (PD). Physical exercise has beneficial effects against aging-related changes, dopaminergic neuron vulnerability and PD progression. The present study indicates that sedentary aged rats have an increase in activity of the nigral angiotensin (Ang) II/Ang type 1 receptor (AT1) axis (i.e. the pro-oxidative pro-inflammatory arm), and a decrease in the activity of the RAS protective arm (i...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Although master athletes maintain high levels of physical activity, they also suffer from an age-related decline in skeletal muscle function. There are indications of disproportional age- and physical inactivity-induced muscle wasting between muscles. Tensiomyography is a non-invasive tool that has been used to study the effects of a variety of sports on the contraction time (Tc) in different skeletal muscles. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess age-related changes in the Tc of the vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius medialis and biceps femoris muscles with Tensiomyography in older non-athletes (age = 62...

Background: Statin treatment is common among 80+ people, but little is known about statin effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in this oldest age group. Methods: In the Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS), men born 1919 to 1934 (original n=3490), have been followed-up since the 1960s. In 2015, a questionnaire about lifestyle, diseases and medications, and including RAND-36/SF-36 HRQoL instrument was mailed to survivors. 612 men (72.6%) responded, 530 of them reporting their medications (98% community-living)...

Background: To describe life-space mobility and explore associations of motor and non-motor symptoms with life-space mobility in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: 164 community-dwelling persons with PD (mean age 71.6 years, 64.6% men) received a postal survey and a subsequent home visit. Motor assessments included perceived walking difficulties (Walk-12G), mobility (Timed Up and Go test), motor symptoms (UPDRS-III) and freezing of gait (item 3, FOG-Qsa)...

Background: Disability in activities of daily living (ADLs) is a dynamic process and transitions among different disability states are common. However, little is known about factors affecting recovery from disability. We examined the association between frailty and recovery from disability among non-disabled community-dwelling elders. Methods: We studied 1023 adults from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) and 685 adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), who were ≥65 years and had incident disability, defined as having difficulty in ≥1 ADL (dressing, eating, toileting, bathing, transferring, walking across a room)...

Background: Mobility limitations are common, with higher prevalence in African Americans compared to whites, and are associated with disability, institutionalization and death. Aging is associated with losses of lean mass and a shift to central adiposity, which are more pronounced in African Americans. We aimed to examine the association of body composition remodeling with incident mobility limitations in older men of African Ancestry. Methods: Seven-year changes in body composition were measured using peripheral computed tomography (pQCT) of the calf and whole-body dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 505 African Ancestry men aged ≥60 years and free of self-reported mobility limitations at baseline...

Members of longevous families live longer than individuals from similar birth cohorts and delay/escape age related diseases. Insight into this familial component of longevity can provide important knowledge about mechanisms protecting against age-related diseases. This familial component of longevity was studied in the Leiden Longevity Study which consists of 944 longevous siblings (participants), their parents (N=842), siblings (N=2302), and spouses (N=809). Family longevity scores were estimated to explore whether human longevity is transmitted preferentially through the maternal or paternal line...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Background: Midlife represents an important time to evaluate health status and health behaviors that may impact health-related quality of life (HRQL) in later years. This study examines change in women's HRQL over 11 years from ages 47-59 to 57-69 and identifies midlife characteristics that predict HRQL at older ages. Methods: Physical (PCS) and Mental Component Summaries (MCS) of the SF-36 were used to assess HRQL from 2002-2013 in 2,614 women from The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a multiethnic/racial cohort study...

Background: Higher-level functional capacity is crucial component for independent living in later life. We used repeated-measures analysis to identify aging trajectories in higher-level functional capacity. We then determined whether these trajectories were associated with all-cause mortality and examined differences in medical and long-term care costs between trajectories among community-dwelling older Japanese. Methods: 2,675 adults aged 65-90 years participated in annual geriatric health assessments and biennial health monitoring surveys during the period from October 2001 through August 2011...

Background: Patients over 95 years of age can be categorized according to three morbidity profiles: escapers, delayers and survivors. The aim of this study was to describe the baseline characteristics, in-hospital outcomes and cumulative mortality of extremely elderly patients admitted with hip fractures and to examine whether there were differences between patients without age-related illnesses (escapers) and others in the same age group (survivors when age-associated illnesses were diagnosed before the age of 80, delayers when these illnesses appeared after the age of 80)...

Muscle weakness in the elderly has been linked to recurrent falls and morbidity, therefore, elucidating the mechanisms contributing to the loss of muscle function and mobility with advancing age is critical. To this aim, we comprehensively examined skeletal muscle metabolic function and hemodynamics in 11 young (23±2 yrs), 11 old (68±2 yrs), and 10 oldest-old (84±2 yrs) physical activity-matched subjects. Specifically, oxidative stress markers, mitochondrial function and the ATP cost of contraction as well as peripheral hemodynamics were assessed during dynamic plantar flexion exercise at 40% of maximal work rate (WRmax)...

Background: Population-based studies of older adults increasingly use wearable devices to measure activity and sleep. Whether cognitive impairment reduces consent and compliance has not been assessed. Methods: In the context of a nationally representative cohort of community-dwelling adults aged 62-90, individuals were invited to participate in a sleep and activity substudy that required wearing a wrist actigraph for 72 consecutive hours. Cognitive function in the parent study was assessed with the survey adaptation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and individuals were categorized as normal, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia...

Background: The association between orthostatic hypotension (OH) and cognitive impairment is controversial, and most studies have investigated older white adults from Western Europe and the United States. Therefore, we investigated the association between OH and cognitive performance in a large and racially diverse sample of adults using cross-sectional data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Methods: OH was defined when systolic blood pressures (SBP) decreased 20 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) decreased 10 mmHg from supine to standing position...

Background: The number of older people living with cancer and cardio-metabolic conditions is increasing but little is known about how specific combinations of these conditions impact mortality. Methods: A total of 22,692 participants aged 65 years and older from four international cohorts were followed-up for mortality for an average of 10 years (8,596 deaths). Data were harmonized across cohorts and mutually exclusive groups of disease combinations were created for cancer, MI, stroke, and diabetes at baseline...

The progression of age-related sarcopenia can be accelerated by impaired recovery of muscle mass following periods of disuse due to illness or immobilization. However, the mechanisms underlying poor recovery of aged muscle following disuse remain to be delineated. Recent evidence suggests that mitochondrial energetics play an important role in regulation of muscle mass. Here, we report that 22-24 month old mice with low muscle mass and low glucose clearance rate also display poor early recovery of muscle mass following 10 days of hind limb unloading...