NIA Home > About NIA > Strategic Plan > Research Goal A
Remarkable progress is being made through basic, clinical, and epidemiologic research toward developing innovative, safe, and effective approaches to prevention and therapy for the population over age 65. These studies seek to improve vaccine and drug development, lessen the disabling effects of disease, delay onset or progression of disease, and enhance pain management.
Aging research targets diseases and conditions that contribute significantly to mortality or disability in old age. A major focus of NIA research is Alzheimer's disease, a devastating neurodegenerative disease that robs people of memory and other intellectual abilities, leading to loss of social and occupational function and ultimately to complete dependence on others. Additional important causes of disease and disability include cardiovascular disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death in older people; bone, muscle, and joint disorders such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis that contribute to pain and loss of mobility; vision, hearing, and other sensory disorders that can isolate older people; and numerous other age-related conditions, such as diabetes and incontinence, that deprive individuals of their independence.
To reduce the burden of illness and disability in older people, researchers in aging are capitalizing on new findings to:
To achieve these objectives, the NIA has developed specific initiatives in several geriatric diseases, disorders, and conditions, including:
The NIA is the lead federal agency for studying Alzheimer's disease (AD). As many as four million Americans suffer from AD, the most common form of dementia. This brain disorder gradually progresses from mild memory loss to disturbing changes in behavior and personality, decline in the ability to think or recognize people, and profound memory loss. Gradually and inexorably, AD consumes and destroys normal brain function. Patients eventually are unable to care for themselves and sometimes are agitated to the point of causing harm to themselves or others. Both patients and the millions of family members and other loved ones who care for them are devastated by AD. These profound losses are related to abnormal changes in the brain that begin many years before memory loss or other clinical symptoms become apparent. Major breakthroughs in genetic, molecular, and epidemiologic research are rapidly expanding our understanding of these pathologic changes. Researchers are precisely characterizing the regions of the brain, such as the hippocampus, that are involved in memory and other cognitive abilities. In AD, brain cells in these regions die in unusual numbers. Efforts are being made to inhibit loss of neurons, for example, by increasing protective growth factors in the brain. Communication among brain cells in AD patients begins to break down as synapses, the communication points between neurons, are lost. Scientists are exploring ways to prevent this loss. Investigators are also tracking the formation and potential interaction between the two major lesions-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles-that proliferate in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, with the aim of finding ways to stop their formation, reduce their numbers, and minimize deleterious downstream effects.
Remarkable progress has been made toward a more complete understanding of the agents that damage cells and the subtle changes in cellular function that can trigger cell death in the brain. AD can also interact with other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and stroke, to make symptoms worse. These findings suggest targets for new diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic strategies for AD. In addition, these advances will certainly lead to insights about other diseases in which nerve cells die, including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and non-AD dementias.
The Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative strives to prevent AD and to slow disease progression once it is diagnosed. This initiative will intensify collaborative efforts to conquer AD between NIA and other NIH institutes, several government agencies, organizations such as the Alzheimer's Association, pharmaceutical companies, and private foundations. Goals are to:
A number of conditions compromise independence and quality of life in older persons. These conditions result in increased suffering, service utilization, and health related costs. Research will be expanded to address the following geriatric concerns:
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are the leading cause of hospitalization and death in older Americans. Congestive heart failure is the most common diagnosis in hospitalized patients aged 65 and older. The NIA is pursuing a broad program of basic and clinical cardiovascular research, often in collaboration with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Recent findings have demonstrated the effectiveness of both pharmacologic and lifestyle approaches in reducing hypertension and preventing heart disease and stroke. Characterization of age-associated changes in both the structure and function of the heart and blood vessels is vital to the development of newer, more effective treatment and prevention interventions. Research priorities include genetic and environmental risk factors for hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. Studies are ongoing to determine the causes of age-associated increases in vascular stiffness, a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Other research will focus on age-related changes in the structure and function of the heart's conduction system that can increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation; if uncorrected, this condition can lead to strokes. Additional priorities include determining the reasons for gender and racial differences in the aging cardiovascular system, delineating the relationship of cardiac enlargement to aging and disease development, and reducing the progression of early atherosclerotic disease.
The second leading cause of death among the elderly is cancer, with individuals age 65 and over accounting for 70 percent of cancer mortality in the U.S. In collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the NIA is expanding basic and clinical research on breast, prostate, and colon cancers, common in older people, and launching a new initiative to expand participation of older cancer patients in clinical trials. This research focuses on age-related changes that contribute to increased cancer incidence and mortality in older persons, aggressive tumor behavior in the aged patient, and the impact of previous or concurrent conditions and disabilities on the cancer experience of older patients. Specific research topics include: dose adjustment for anti-tumor agents and radiation therapy, diagnostic cancer imaging, how coexisting diseases affect cancer treatment and survival outcome, and survival advantages or disadvantages of minority or ethnic populations.
Type 2 diabetes, which results from insulin resistance and abnormal insulin action, is most prevalent in the older population. Diabetes complications, such as heart disease and loss of sight, increase dramatically when blood sugar is poorly controlled and often develop before diabetes is diagnosed. Working with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the NIA is exploring strategies to prevent type 2 diabetes and to expand knowledge on usual age-related increases in insulin resistance and glucose tolerance. Studies are also focusing on how changes caused by type 2 diabetes affect responses to treatment and prevention strategies in older persons. Other studies will develop critical resources to study genetic susceptibility and gene/environment interaction in type 2 diabetes.
Osteoporosis (loss of mass and quality of bones), osteoarthritis (inflammation and deterioration of joints), and sarcopenia (age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength) contribute to frailty and injury in millions of older people. Several initiatives, some in collaboration with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, are unraveling the underlying mechanisms of aging in bone, muscle, skin, and joints with the goal of conserving or enhancing their function and preventing pathologies. For example, factors are being explored to define the influences that can predispose older people to fractures and develop effective prevention and intervention strategies for age-related musculoskeletal decline. Also contributing to loss of mobility and independence are changes in the central nervous system that control movement. Cells may die or become dysfunctional with age, as in Parkinson's disease. Older people therefore may have difficulty with gross motor behavior, such as moving around in the environment, or with fine motor skills, such as writing. Research is being conducted to understand the underlying age-related changes that occur in the motor control areas of the brain with the aim of developing therapeutic interventions. One such approach, deep brain stimulation, is being pursued as a collaborative effort with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Age-associated changes in sensory function, including vision, hearing, taste, smell, proprioception, and vestibular function, can lead to significant loss in function, as well as decrease the quality of life for many older persons. In collaboration with the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and the National Eye Institute, progress is being made in discovering risk factors for age-related hearing loss and vision decline. Increased emphasis is being given to research on multiple sensory deficits in older people, which increases their risk for mortality and loss of independence. Ongoing research is redesigning products and developing new technologies for older people to make reading easier and more understandable, enhance hearing and other sensory abilities, and otherwise contribute to functional independence. Age-related declines in taste and smell may have an impact on both the enjoyment and nutritional choices of the elderly. Studies on flavor enhancement are aimed at maintaining healthful eating habits, especially in sick and otherwise debilitated elderly. Understanding the mechanisms involved in decreased sensory function is also expected to lead to interventions to maintain optimal function into the later years.
It is common for the prostate gland, part of the male reproductive system, to enlarge with age. More than half of men in their 60s and as many as 90 percent in their 70s and 80s have some symptoms of this condition, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. Symptoms stem from obstruction of the urethra (the canal through which urine passes out of the body) by the adjacent prostate gland. Severe BPH can lead to urinary tract infections, bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones, and incontinence. Although some researchers believe that factors related to aging may spur development of BPH, the cause is not well understood. The NIA stimulates research on the causes of the high incidence of prostate growth in older men and on issues related to treatment and potential regimens to minimize prostate growth.
The mechanisms that underlie the decline of immune function often accompany advancing age, leaving older people more vulnerable to conditions such as influenza and pneumonia. Success in understanding changes with age in immune competence and the underlying mechanisms of these changes have broad implications for vaccine development and reduction in infectious illness, which often leads to hospitalization and death in older people. An emerging research focus involves prevention of HIV/AIDS in older people, a growing health problem. NIA research on these issues is coordinated with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the NIH Office of AIDS Research.
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