September 09, 1999
LAWRENCE -- New discoveries about how our genes affect our lifespan, how calcium can affect our brains as we get older and other research advances in the molecular biology of aging will be the focus of an international symposium in Kansas City this month.
The "New Biology of Aging" symposium will bring together nationally and internationally recognized investigators and younger scientists, including several from the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, from Sept. 26 to 29 at the Hyatt-Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Mo.
Speakers will include the director of the National Institute on Aging as well as scientists from such institutions as Duke University, the University of Washington, Scripps Research Institute, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California-Los Angeles, KU and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
"It's a sharing of the latest research and scientific discoveries," said Del Shankel, professor emeritus of molecular biosciences at KU and co-chair of the planning committee for the event.
Topics are expected to range from research into Alzheimer's disease and ALS, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, to the latest neurological and genetic studies of aging, Shankel said.
In addition to keynote speakers, there will be sessions on the following topics:
The symposium is the fourth such gathering sponsored by the Scientific Education Partnership, a research and training project involving KU, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Hoechst-Marion Roussel Foundation, a Kansas City-based pharmaceuticals company.
The Scientific Education Partnership was formed to promote scientific knowledge and development in the greater Kansas City area with a specific focus on aging.
Symposium fees, which include seven meals, range from $195 for general participants to $75 for graduate students and postdoctoral personnel. The Hyatt-Regency is offering discounted rates of $121 a night for participants.
For more information, contact Marvin Hunt at 864-7857 or mhunt@ukans.edu. Participants may register online at http://www.kumc.edu/kuce/app/nba/nba.html.
Oxygen is essential for life - we must have it to live. But as we age, oxygen - and the products produced as our bodies use oxygen - also damages our genes and other important cell structures. New studies indicate the use of antioxidants and some vitamins can prevent or slow this damage. This may play a role in giving us a higher quality of life as well as extending our lives by reducing the risk of cancer and diseases associated with aging.
Contacts:
Mitochondria are the "fuel cells" of our bodies where much of our energy supply is generated. As we age, mitochondria's abilities decline and it appears this plays a role in some of the acute and chronic diseases common in older people. These cells eventually go through a "programmed" death. Several speakers will address how these cell structures are involved in such diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Contacts:
It is clear that the genes we inherit from our parents play a major role in determining our life spans. They may predispose us to heart attacks, strokes or obesity. They also may provide us with the potential to live long lives. The important role of genetics in the aging process will be the focus of a number of talks.
Genetically controlled repair systems can reduce the amount of damage to our genes and promote longer lives. Speakers will focus on "telomeres," small structures located on the ends of our chromosomes. These telomeres shorten as we age. Why they shorten and what role these structures play in aging-related cancers and extending our life spans will be major topics of the symposium.
Contacts:
As we age, our protective immune systems change significantly, and we become less able to fight off infectious diseases as a result. Some particular cells in our immune response system may be key in extending the ability of our cells to fight disease.
Contacts:
Our bodies contain what is known as a "blood-brain barrier" that prevents toxins from entering and damaging our brain tissue. However, this barrier in our blood also blocks many newly developed drugs and medications that could affect diseases, like Alzheimer's Disease and ALS, and prevent other detrimental changes that occur in the brain as we age.
More than 95 percent of the new potentially useful drugs identified in ongoing central nervous system drug discovery programs cannot cross this barrier. The programs are seeking drugs to treat brain tumors, strokes, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other problems.
Several speakers will address finding a way to get these new drugs where they are needed and are effective.
Contacts:
As we age, brain function may tend to deteriorate. Some of this may be due to a slowdown in the way messages are transmitted in our nerves and brains. The level of calcium can influence this nerve transmission. The brain may also lose its capacity to repair damage, such as that caused by strokes. However, it may be possible to enhance the brain's ability to repair itself through new approaches to therapy.
Contacts:
Richard J. Hodes, director, National Institute on Aging, will address the symposium at noon, Monday, Sept. 27.
The NIA is one of the National Institutes of Health, the principal biomedical research agency of the United States government. The NIA is the principal federal funding agency for studies of the basic, clinical, epidemiological and social aspects of aging, and promotes healthy aging by conducting and supporting biomedical, social and behavioral research and public education.
Dr. Hodes, an eminent immunologist, directs the NIA research program. By promoting the continued development of a strong, diverse and balanced research program at NIA, Dr. Hodes expects to fuel progress in aging research. He maintains an active involvement in research on the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Md., through his direction of the Immune Regulation Section, a laboratory devoted to studying regulation of the immune system, focused on cellular and molecular events that activate the immune response. This involvement in campus research also serves to strengthen ties with other NIH scientists involved in studies of age-related diseases.
Hodes was named director of the NIA in 1993, but has enjoyed a long career in science at NIH, first as a clinical investigator in the National Cancer Institute, then as the deputy chief and acting chief of the Cancer Institute's Immunology Branch. Since 1982 he has served as Program Coordinator for the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program, since 1992 on the scientific advisory board of the Cancer Research Institute, and since 1995 as a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.
He is an editor of several scholarly journals, including The Journal of Experimental Medicine and Therapeutic Immunology, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. In 1997, Dr. Hodes was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Hodes is a graduate of Yale University and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Contact: (301) 496-9265 or hodesr@31.nia.nih.gov.
Contact: Todd Cohen, 864-8858.