Researchers Will Pay Seniors to Help Study Families
with History of Long, Healthy Life
Recruitment builds on efforts during an earlier phase
of the research, in which several hundred families took part
Feb.
2, 2009 - Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center
are willing to pay senior citizens willing to help them learn more about
living a long healthy life. The new study, sponsored by the National
Institutes on Aging, needs long-lived families to help. More and more
people are living longer, but living to extreme old age is unusual and
tends to run in some families.
The study is looking for families with two or more
healthy brothers and sisters who are at least 79-years-old and in good
health and can be interviewed in person (interviews can take place
either at Columbia or at the participant’s home).
Death rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death
in U.S. all dropped significantly in 2006; Alzheimer’s passed diabetes
becoming the sixth leading cause of death
“The goal of our study is to identify individuals
that not only have long lives, but have lived long, healthy lives," said
Richard Mayeux, M.D., M.S., Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center Professor of
Neurology, Psychiatry and Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical
Center and co-director of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s
Disease and the Aging Brain.
"We're trying to determine whether it’s something
genetic, or is it something they were able to achieve as the result of
living a healthy lifestyle?"
"We’re interested in finding out why some families
age so well,” said Winifred K. Rossi, deputy director of NIA’s Division
of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology and the NIA program official for
the study.
“By sharing information about their lives and
families with us, participants may help improve the health of future
generations—including their own children and grandchildren—by giving us
clues to the secrets of healthy longevity.”
Trained clinical staff will ask study participants
about their family and health history and conduct some physical
assessments and health screening tests. Participants also will be asked
for a small blood sample to obtain genetic information. Genetic and
health information will be kept strictly confidential. The research team
will construct a family tree to see how many relatives lived long lives.
Researchers will visit the home of relatives living elsewhere.
Investigators plan to stay in touch with the families to determine if
other family members and their children live longer than usual.
The current study recruitment builds on efforts
during an earlier phase of the research, in which several hundred
families took part. It is critical to include a large number of
additional families so that the most thorough analyses can be done. “The
families who have so generously given of their time so far have told us
that they are proud of their long-lived families and are happy to be
part of this effort,” Rossi said. “We are most appreciative of their
time and of their interest—and that of future participants.”
Participants will be compensated for their complete
participation. Individuals interested in finding out if they qualify for
the Long Life Family Study at Columbia University Medical Center should
call 1-800-304-4317 or visit
longlifefamilystudy.org.
The Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s
Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center is a
multidisciplinary group that has forged links between researchers and
clinicians to uncover the causes of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other
age-related brain diseases and discover ways to prevent and cure these
diseases. It has partnered with the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center at
Columbia University Medical Center which was established by an endowment
in 1977 to focus on diseases of the nervous system. The Center
integrates traditional epidemiology with genetic analysis and clinical
investigation to explore all phases of diseases of the nervous system.
For more information about these centers visit:
http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/taub/
http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/sergievsky/
Columbia University Medical Center provides
international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research,
in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The
medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of
many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and
nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of
Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing,
the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,
and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767,
Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution
in the country to grant the M.D. degree and is among the most selective
medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is
home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and
state and one of the largest in the United States. For more information,
please visit
www.cumc.columbia.edu.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Feb.
2, 2009 - Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center
are willing to pay senior citizens willing to help them learn more about
living a long healthy life. The new study, sponsored by the National
Institutes on Aging, needs long-lived families to help. More and more
people are living longer, but living to extreme old age is unusual and
tends to run in some families. 