Duke
University
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development
RESEARCH
COGNITIVE
PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY
THE
CENTER FOR SPIRITUALITY, THEOLOGY and HEALTH
CHINESE LONGITUDINAL HEALTHY LONGEVITY SURVEY (CLHLS)
BIOLOGIC
RESEARCH
CLINICAL
RESEARCH
SOCIAL
and BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
RESEARCH
Center researchers also work closely with members of the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center's Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), one of 16 such centers in the United States. GRECC facilities include research and education space, Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit and Clinic, and the 120-bed Extended Care and Rehabilitation Center.
BIOLOGIC
RESEARCH
Programs include both basic and clinical research. One
example of the former are studies being conducted by one investigative
team exploring the importance of signal transduction pathways
in cellular senescence and the role of programmed cell death
(apoptosis). This team is learning how lipid related metabolic
pathways play a role in this process and how alterations in them
may promote or inhibit senescence. Another group has been studying
proteins (transcription factors) which control cell growth and
proliferation (the cell cycle), and specific complexes which
appear to be present only in senescent cells. These factors,
which regulate gene expression, may thus play a role in cellular
aging. CLINICAL
RESEARCH
Examples
of ongoing clinical research programs include an extensive
program on pharmacogenetics which studies use of medications
by the elderly. Epidemiologic studies defining problems of
drug use have been conducted via the Piedmont
Health Survey, and an intervention to improve appropriateness
of prescribing has been designed and tested in a randomized
controlled trial. Another major randomized control trial of
the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit is being conducted
by affiliated GRECC investigators and drug utilization in this
trial is also being assessed. Clinical trials are also being
conducted by our program in metabolic bone disease studying
both osteoporosis and Pagets disease of bone.
At the interface of basic and applied research we are studying
the impact of biologic markers of inflammation (cytokines)
on functional status and disease, in our Piedmont
Health Survey of the Elderly. There are also important
collaborative research programs with the Bryan Alzheimer's
Center, the Stedman Nutrition Center, and the Duke Center for
Living.
SOCIAL
and BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
Coordinated
by center Associate Director Linda K. George, Social and Behavioral
Research here covers a variety of subjects, most of which focus
on quality of life during old age. This focus is important to
the older population; it also facilitates multidisciplinary research.
Examples of social and behavioral research projects at the center
include social factors and illness, age changes in sensory and
cognitive processes, community-based and institutional long-term
care, ways to promote independent living in the community, and
coping with chronic illness.Recently, two research efforts have attained programmatic status in the center. The first focuses on health and aging among African Americans. Much of this effort is funded by an Exploratory Center for Minority Aging award from the National Institute on Aging. The second focuses on religion, health, and aging, examining the ways in which religious participation protects health and facilitates recovery from illness.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
RESEARCH
Focusing
on the whole person and his or her environment is perhaps the
greatest strength of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging
and Human Development. The Duke Longitudinal
Studies, which have been awarded the Sandoz International
Prize, initiated this tradition in the mid-1950s, and similar
efforts continue today.
The largest such study is the Piedmont
Health Survey of the Elderly. Funded by the National
Institute on Aging, the study includes eight interviews, spanning
a decade, and clinical studies of more than 4,000 older adults
from five North Carolina counties. Major research issues include
the prevalence and incidence of chronic disease and mental
health problems, social and environmental risk factors of disease
onset, patterns of health care and service use, and overall
quality of life.
Another major multidisciplinary project
in the center is the Claude
D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. This activity
focuses on problems of dysmobility among older adults. Research
activities include studies that evaluate the effectiveness
of a social and therapeutic program on osteoporosis, the effects
of exercise on cardiovascular outcomes, the effects of a physical
therapy intervention on mobility among Parkinsons patients,
and an exercise program designed to help older nursing home
residents with substantial disease and disability burdens.
Other components of the Pepper
Center include faculty research development and research
resources in statistics, research design, and genetics.
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