Mini-school focuses on anti-aging

Some of the eternal questions of life — how and why we age, why some people age faster or live longer and what can be done to fight the diseases and disabilities associated with old age — will be explored by distinguished scientists in a provocative Spring 2005 “Mini-Med School,” co-sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Office of Science Education at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Smithsonian Associates.

The program called “Aging under the Microscope” will explore the basic science underlying the aging process. The six-week series is scheduled on Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m., April 21-May 26, at a location to be announced on the Smithsonian campus in Washington D.C.

Featured speakers include:

• Steven Austad, PhD, a professor of structural and cellular biology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, and author of Why We Age, kicks off the series on April 21 with an overview of the aging process and scientists’ understanding of aging both in humans and animals.

• Jill Carrington, PhD, chief of the Biology of Aging’s Systems Branch at the NIA, introduces participants to the inner world of the aging cell. She will also discuss what is known about antioxidants and other biochemicals that may slow cellular aging.

• David Schlessinger, PhD, chief of the NIA’s Laboratory of Genetics, discusses how genetics may influence the aging process.

• Steven T. DeKosky, MD, who heads the NIA-supported Alzheimer’s Disease Center at the University of Pittsburgh, focuses on what is known about normal aging of the brain and what gerontologists are learning about mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders common among older people.

• Stephanie Studenski, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, explores how our bodies change over time and how these changes influence aging of the immune system, heart and other vital organs and tissues. John Morley, MB, BCh, of St. Louis University, explains some of the risks and benefits associated with use of hormonal replacement therapies being advocated by some as a way to alter aging.

• Judith A. Salerno, MD, NIA deputy director, and a panel of senior scientists from the Institute will report on the federal government’s $1 billion aging research program and will describe how recent advances in understanding aging are being used to develop interventions that could reduce the impact of many of age-related health problems, including heart disease and osteoporosis. They will also point out the challenges facing research on aging, among them, determining which potential interventions and therapies could help us all improve our chances for a healthy, independent late life.

General admission for the entire series is $57. To purchase tickets, phone 202-357-3030. Information is available at www.residentassociates.org/com/mini_med.asp.

Source: National Institute on Aging, http://www.nia.nih.gov

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