Browsing by Subject "Aging"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 33
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    Assessment of movement skills and perceptual judgent in atypical aging.
    (2012-08) Jor’dan, Azizah-Jehan
    This study investigated if individuals with either mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) exhibit higher levels of postural motion when engaged in a perceptually demanding visual task, compared to a similar group of typically aging individuals. Participants were well-characterized patients currently enrolled in the Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center’s, existing protocols for patients (Protocol-Cognitive Changes in Older Adults: A Minneapolis VA Medical Center Database [the GRECC Memory Loss Clinic database]) and normal controls (Protocol-Normative Changes in Older Adults). Fifty-nine volunteer participants enrolled from these protocols. Groups were assigned according to a consensus diagnosis of AD, MCI, and Normal. Twenty-five AD, 19 MCI and 15 Normal participated in the study. Participants completed a visual task comprising two conditions: a control condition (Inspection) - looking only within the perimeter of the blank (white board) target; and an experimental condition (Search) – which required counting the frequency of a designated letter within a text block of randomly presented alphabet letters. Postural motion was recorded as center of pressure (COP) in centimeters, in both the medial-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) planes of motion, using a stable motion detecting platform. Results indicate that the AD group was less able to modulate postural motion in the ML plane (postural motion increased when switching from the Inspection task to the Search task); both the MCI and Normal group decreased their postural motion when switching from the Inspection task to the Search task. All groups, in the AP plane, were able to modulate their postural motion when engaged in the more demanding Search task, but the AD recorded significantly higher postural motion than the Normal group. There was no significant difference between the Normal and MCI group; or between the AD and MCI group in the AP plane. When groups were reclassified according to their current Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores, there was a significant difference between the “Low” MMSE group and the “High” MMSE group, in which the Low group increased their postural motion in the ML plane when engaged in the more demanding Search task. Consistent with the previous analysis, in the AP, all groups were able to reduce their postural motion when engaged in the more demanding Search task. However, both the “Low” and “Middle” MMSE groups, who recorded higher postural motion, differed significantly from the “High” MMSE group. The results extend previous findings with respect to the strength of the perception-action link in aging individuals who experience cognitive change. Deficits in cognitive function related to postural motion, indicate an ‘embodied’ relationship that may be a sensitive measure to early-stage dementia.
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    Carver County Baby Boomer Readiness Assessment Tools
    (Minneapolis: Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, 2009) Guthrie, Andrew; Cedarleaf Dahl, Erik
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    Characterization and Classifcation of HDACs in Aging Osteoclasts
    (2022-05) Schleyer, Brendan
    Background: As humans age, bone mass is lost due to increased osteoclast and decreased osteoblast function. Bone cell differentiation is regulated by epigenetic changes within histones through acetylation/ de-acetylation. Histone deacetylase removes an acetyl group from a histone, repressing transcription. Several studies have demonstrated that loss of HDAC expression enhances osteoclast activity. There are 18 currently identified HDACs which are divided in 3 classes: I, II, and IV. This study aims to examine expression levels of HDAC class I and II in osteoclasts at 1 and 24-months of age. We hypothesize that osteoclasts from older mice will exhibit lower HDAC expression. This will increase our understanding of how HDAC expression changes in osteoclasts from aging mice. These changes may suggest a possible mechanism by which osteoclast activity is increased in aging osteoclasts. Methods: Bone marrow cells were flushed from femurs and tibiae of either male or female 1- or 24-month mice. BMMs were harvested and differentiated into osteoclasts at days 0, 2, and 4. They were then lysed to isolate RNA and reverse transcriptase was added to yield cDNA. Samples were subjected to qRT-PCR. Data analysis yielded expression coefficients with standard deviations. True expression was calculated for data sets and examined in graph form showing average with +/- standard deviation. Multiple group comparison ANOVA tests were run with significance set at p< 0.05. Results: For HDAC 4, expression at day 4 of differentiation of 24-month females was significantly higher than the 1-month females (p= 0.0273). For HDAC 11, expression at day 4 of differentiation of 1-month males was significantly higher than that of the 24-month males. No other group comparison yielded significance. Overall, expression was similar between age groups and sexes. Expression levels were shown to differ between days of differentiation. Conclusions: This study functions as a pilot study regarding HDAC classification and expression. To the knowledge of the author, there are no studies to date examining HDAC expression between young and advanced age subjects. The acquired data has numerous outliers which may be disguising areas of significance. The data does not support our hypothesis that expression is lower in advanced age subjects. Limitations of the study include number of test subjects, quality/quantity of cDNA, and accuracy of sample preparation. On a broader scope, the data does not depict distinct expression patterns for the varying classes of HDACs. It is suggested that each HDAC has varying expression levels at different days of differentiation and might have roles at various stages during expression. This study provides a groundwork for moving forward with more targeted studies based on conditions such as osteoporosis and periodontitis.
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    Chronic stress induces cellular senescence: implications for aging and neurodegenerative disorders
    (2022-06) Lyons, Carey
    Chronic stress can shorten lifespan and is a risk factor for a diverse range of aging-related diseases. Despite the consistency of this relationship, it remains unclear how stress might affect aging biology. An association between stress exposure and induction of a fundamental aging process such as cellular senescence has been proposed, but experimental evidence is lacking. A complicating factor in human and rodent stress research is the variability of stressors and stress responses themselves. This dissertation presents several studies interrogating the biological processes by which chronic stress may affect aging and disease risk, and probing the relevance of stressor type to these effects. The thesis starts with a review of existing literature supporting the hypothesis that chronic psychological stress can induce cellular senescence. Chapter 2 provides the first experimental evidence causally linking chronic stress with an increase in senescent cells. Moreover, it suggests that a social stress model (chronic subordination stress; CSS), and a nonsocial psychological stress model (restraint stress) despite both most prominently affecting the brain, may be biased towards different senescence pathways (p16 or p21 respectively) and brain regions (hippocampus and cortex). Spatial transcriptomic profiling of the brains of CSS-exposed mice implicates the DNA Damage Response and elevated Ras/Raf signaling as mediators of CSS-induced senescence. CSS-induced SNCs also appears to alter the local microenvironment via pathways including interleukin signaling, and changes to the extracellular matrix. They are also associated with elevated glutamatergic neurotransmission. However, a lifelong pharmacogenetic strategy to eliminate senescent cells was detrimental to healthspan and lifespan and further exacerbates CSS-induced deficits in those measures. With the CNS emerging as a key target of stress-induced SNC, Chapter 3 reviews the association between stress and Alzheimer’s disease, with an emphasis on rodent models. Chapter 4 demonstrates differential effects of CSS and restraint stress on a mouse model of tau pathology (PS19) – one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although our study found only minor detrimental effects of either model, CSS appears to affect some cognitive function via a tau-independent mechanism. Lastly, Chapter 5 presents an unbiased analysis of the proteomic changes shared by mice exposed to lifelong CSS and AD patients. This work replicates the lack-of-effect of CSS on tau pathology, while demonstrating that most of the overlapping proteins were functionally associated with enhanced NMDA receptor mediated glutamatergic signaling, an excitotoxicity mechanism known to affect neurodegeneration. These findings support the association between stress and AD progression and provide valuable insight into potential early biomarkers and protein mediators of this relationship. The results of these studies provide novel insight into the mechanisms by which stress may affect aging and risk for neurodegenerative disease.
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    Claiming Space: Older Adult Students’ Lived Experience and Sense of Belonging on an Age-Friendly University Campus
    (2023-07) Baig, Farah
    The over 65 population will reach 77 million by 2034 in the United States—a mere eleven years from now (Vespa, 2018). Aging demographics in the United States is part of a much larger global phenomenon of population aging. As such there has been a universal push to meet the specific needs of older adult learners (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2022). This dissertation, using a multi-methods case study approach, examines the intergenerational learning experiences of older adult students at a large public Age-Friendly University (AFU) in the midwestern region of the United States, the University of Minnesota. The goal of this research is twofold, namely 1) to facilitate a greater understanding of the lived experiences of these older adult students (primarily aged 62+) who have chosen to enroll in classes alongside 18–22-year-old students and 2) to determine, from the perspective of older adult students, the university’s progress toward realizing two of the ten age-friendly principles outlined by the AFU Global Network. The two principles I focus on are 1) to encourage the participation of older adults in all the core activities of the university, including educational and research programs and 2) to promote intergenerational learning to facilitate the reciprocal sharing of expertise between learners of all ages. Using Strayhorn’s (2019) conceptualization of college students’ sense of belonging as my conceptual framework, I explore the following research questions: 1) How do older adults participating in traditional college/university courses characterize their lived experience on AFU campuses? 2) How do these older students describe their ‘sense of belonging’ to these institutions? 3) What role does a sense of belonging to the campus community play in an older student’s ‘successful’ college/university experience? To date, there remains a significant gap in scholarship that directly engages with older adult students about their experiences on higher education campuses (Cannon et al., 2023; Chesser et al., 2020; Lim et al., 2023). The results of this study help to fill that striking gap in the literature. The study reveals that older adult student success is defined by multiple factors including individual preparedness, intergenerational engagement, experiences of joy, a sense of unbounded opportunity, and institutional supports that foster a sense of belonging to campus. With these findings as a foundation, I introduce the Voices of Older Adult Students (VOAS) action model along with substantive steps that can be adopted by other universities to nurture campus environments that promote older adult students’ sense of belonging and contribute to their overall collegiate success.
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    CYFC Consortium Connections, Spring 2004, Vol 13, No 1
    (Children, Youth & Family Consortium, 2004) Children, Youth & Family Consortium
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    CYFC Consortium Connections, Winter 2001, Vol 10, No 1
    (Children, Youth & Family Consortium, 2001) Children, Youth & Family Consortium
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    CYFC Consortium Connections, Winter 2002, Vol 11, No 1
    (Children, Youth & Family Consortium, 2002) Children, Youth & Family Consortium
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    Determinants of Residential Location Decisions among the Pre-Elderly in Central Ohio
    (Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2009) Morrow-Jones, Hazel A.; Kim, Moon Jeong
    This paper examines the differences and similarities in residential movement patterns and motivations between young households (under 50), pre-elderly households (50 through 64) and elderly households (65 and over). We use deed transfer records and a survey of home owners who moved between late 2004 and early 2006 in Franklin County, the central county of the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. The patterns are mapped and the motivations and household characteristics are explored through descriptive analysis and discriminant analysis. Most expectations are supported and the pre-elderly are seen to be a distinct group with some similarities to each of the other two age cohorts, but also some unique characteristics and interests.
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    Developing a Predictive Model and Novel Imaging Technique for the Failure of Polyethylene Insulators
    (2019-08) Zoltek, Daniel
    Polyethylene is the most widespread polymer used in insulative cable housings due to its low cost, high chemical resistivity and low permeability to liquids and gases. This does not mean, however, that the material is not susceptible to failure under environmental working conditions. Many techniques for monitoring both chemical and physical changes have been developed, though no attempts have been made to integrate these findings. Here, we put forth a model for the failure of polyethylene cable housings under thermooxidative conditions. This model revealed an absence of data on the monitoring of polyethylene crystalline structure during the aging process, which in part controls the insulative properties of the polyethylene. Polyethylene films (30 µm) were aged at 110°C for 24-hour periods in an oven and carbonyl content, a common aging indicator, was monitored. An ATR-FTIR crystallinity monitoring technique was developed and revealed a 3-phase change of crystalline structure upon thermal aging. To better visualize the hypothesized pore formation in the polyethylene, which follows aging, EIS was used to saturate pores with gold nanoparticles before elemental analysis and imaging with SEM. Results suggest the existence of these pores and the ability for ions to penetrate the aged films.
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    Discharge planning with older adults in Minnesota hospitals.
    (2012-07) Eaton, Charissa K.
    This mixed methods study utilizes data collected through telephone interviews with hospital administrators and health care professionals who assist elders with planning for post-acute care and secondary data from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Hospital Association website to examine the discharge planning process in all hospitals serving older adults in Minnesota. It addresses two research questions: 1) How, if at all, decision-making help for hospitalized seniors is structured and what predicts that structure? and 2) To what extent, do professionals who help with decisions deliberately engage in processes that help elders and their families explore alternatives and reach decisions consistent with their own values, and what predicts whether that process takes place? Quantitative analyses determined that the majority of hospitals in Minnesota serving that serve older adults are small, rural hospitals with critical access designations, are private nonprofit, and are affiliated with a health care system. Social workers are primarily responsible for discharge planning in half of the hospitals, nurses in a quarter and either a nurse/social worker team or both nurse and social workers separately in a quarter. Multinomial logistic regression determined that in critical access hospitals nurses are more likely than social workers to be the profession primarily responsible for discharge planning. The majority of professionals who assist elders in making decisions about post-acute care, decision counselors, were female, in their 40s, and social workers who have received a bachelor's degree. The majority of decision counselors reported typically using a deliberate approach to their work. Multivariate analysis suggests that social workers score higher than nurses on the deliberate decision counseling scale based on Janis and Mann's (1977) framework. The qualitative method, conventional content analysis, was used to analyze open ended responses by decision counselors when asked to describe a recent case of an elder who presented the most decision challenges related to discharge planning. Decision counselors do not use a consistent process in assisting elders make decisions about post-acute care. Instead, decision counselors vary in their practice due to influences from the medical model and ethical dilemmas concerning the values of safety and self-determination.
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    Examining Cellular Senescence and Brown Adipose-Like Features of Cardiac Adipose Tissue in Female Mice
    (2024) Nguyen, Katie; Carey, Anna; Camell, Christina
    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an age- and obesity-associated disease that is the leading cause of death in the world. During aging, white adipose tissue (AT) expands and becomes more inflammatory, driving systemic changes to lipid metabolism and increasing CVD risk. Senescent cells accumulate in white AT with age and secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and proteases that constitute the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and contribute to chronic inflammation and disease during aging. Epicardial and pericardial AT are beige, thermogenic tissues that surround the heart and can produce heat through metabolic activation by β3 adrenergic stimulation. The thermogenic capacity of other AT depots (i.e., subcutaneous and brown) declines with age, but it is unknown if thermogenic capacity and senescence in epicardial and pericardial AT changes with age. Therefore, we measured markers of senescence (p16, p21, Il6, Il1b) and thermogenesis (Ucp1, Ppargc1α) in epicardial and pericardial AT in young and old female mice. The old mice exhibited a basal reduction in Ucp1 and Ppargc1α expression in both tissues compared to the young, suggesting that basal thermogenesis declines with age. In contrast, β3 adrenergic stimulation induced greater expression of Ucp1 in old pericardial AT compared to young. Senescence factors including p16 and p21 increased in the AT from old mice compared to the young, indicating increased senescence in old pericardial and epicardial AT. However, cytokine expression was unchanged or reduced with age. Notably, epicardial AT showed greater p16 and loss of thermogenic markers compared to pericardial AT during aging, suggesting differential aging of these tissues. Ultimately, our results showed that cardiac AT thermogenesis is impaired basally, but not under stimulation, and may be more senescent during aging. Additionally, epicardial AT shows greater age-related metabolic dysfunction. These data provide more insight into the heterogeneity of adipose tissue depots, which will benefit research in CVD.
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    An exploration of aging lesbians on the North Shore of Lake Superior
    (2013-04) Nichols, Angela Christine
    This ethnographic study explored the lived experiences of aging lesbians on the North Shore of Lake Superior uniting the demographics of age, rural residence, and sexual orientation. Research methods included semi-structured interviews, grand tour, participant observation, field notes, photography, and group discussion. The analytical framework was biography and used participants' life stories to understand their lived experiences. The results reveal how participants learned to adapt to climate, culture, and community in a unique, isolated place. The study also uncovered emergent themes that reveal how aging lesbians feel supported and unsupported by their community. This study reveals the importance of class status in studies about aging lesbians in rural areas and their own perceptions of acceptance and assimilation. Participants' rural location, social environment, and migration are discussed, along with the uniqueness of place, culture and class status.
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    “The Golden Years” – Narratives of Aging on the AARP Website
    (2022-03-23) Kapinos, Aaron
    With the number of seniors over the age of 65 projected to grow rapidly over the coming decades, the conversation about aging will become ever more important. AARP, one of the largest media companies targeting seniors, will play a large role in shaping narratives of aging. As such, the case study that follows is an important contribution to the conversation about aging. I explore the narratives of aging related to the topic of health which currently exist on the AARP website, following in the footsteps of Bowen and Anderson, the only published articles studying AARP’s narratives of aging. My methods include a content inventory and thematic analysis of a sample of “Health” articles from the AARP website. My results show that there is no single dominant narrative of aging regarding health in AARP’s “Health” articles; AARP seems to use multiple narratives to approach their senior audience as agents with a moderate amount of agency.
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    Investigation of secondary hardening in Co-35Ni-20Cr-10Mo alloy using analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy
    (2014-08) Sorensen, Daniel David
    The mechanism of secondary hardening in MP35N (Co-35Ni-20Cr-10Mo) alloy due to exposures at elevated temperatures has been studied. It was observed that short exposure to elevated temperatures increased the ultimate tensile strength and yield stress while decreasing the elongation of MP35N wires. Upon aging at temperatures from 300 to 900°C the elastic modulus increased although no changes in crystallographic orientation or microstructure were observed. No proposed model for this apparent increase in elastic modulus is suggested as yet. The grain size and major texture components were unchanged following aging. Analytical scanning transmission electron microscope investigation showed that MP35N is hardened by preferential segregation of molybdenum to stacking faults and deformation twins. It also revealed that the concentration of molybdenum segregation was proportional to the amount of initial cold work before aging.
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    Is testosterone supplementation right for me?
    (2012-04-10) Eberle, Bryan
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    A Longitudinal Analysis of the Effects of the NYU Caregiver Intervention-Adult Child on Subjective Health
    (2020-11-10) Albers, Elizabeth, A
    Objective: The present study examined whether the NYU Caregiver Intervention for Adult Children (NYUCI-AC) influenced the subjective health of adult child family caregivers of persons with dementia. Methods: A randomized controlled trial, conducted between 2006 and 2012, compared outcomes among a psychosocial intervention group to usual care controls. One hundred and seven adult child caregivers of persons with dementia were included in the sample (n=54 assigned to the intervention group; n=53 assigned to the usual care control group). Participants were assessed up to eight times; every four months in the first year, then every six months afterwards. The current study focused on the effects of the NYUCI-AC on changes in self-rated health over the study period. Results: Growth curve models found that self-rated health among intervention group and control group caregivers did not differ over the study period. No effect of the intervention on self-rated health emerged over time after controlling for baseline differences in gender and satisfaction with social support. Conclusions: The NYUCI-AC is a multicomponent psychosocial intervention that provides counseling and support to adult child caregivers and did not alter subjective health over time.
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    Mechanisms and functional consequences of glial signaling in the retina.
    (2009-07) Kurth-Nelson, Zebulun Lloyd
    Twenty years ago, glia were viewed as passive support cells for neurons. Since then, experiments have shown that glial cells have their own form of excitability with precise intracellular spatiotemporal dynamics, intercellular communication among themselves, a bidirectional dialog with neurons and synapses, and a key role in mediating blood flow changes in response to neuronal activity. Most of these experiments have been conducted in brain regions such as hippocampus, cortex, hypothalamus, and cerebellum. However, as work from our laboratory has shown, the mammalian retina is also an excellent preparation to study the active functions of glial cells. Here, we describe two forms of active glial signaling in the retina. First, we tested the hypothesis that glial cells modulate synaptic activity in the retina. We measured synaptic strength by evoking excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in ganglion cells with either light or an electrical stimulus. We then excited glial cells through several methods, including agonist ejection, photolysis of caged Ca2+, and depolarization. The amplitude of the synaptic currents was altered by some, but not all, of these glial stimuli, leaving us unable to draw a definitive conclusion as to whether glial excitation alone is sufficient to modulate synaptic transmission in the retina. Second, we characterized spontaneous intercellular glial Ca2+ waves in the retina. Glial cell excitability takes the form of transient intracellular Ca2+ elevations. One of the first recognized active properties of glia was their ability to propagate these Ca2+ elevations from cell to cell in a wave-like pattern. In most previous experiments, glial Ca2+ waves were initiated by an experimenter-driven stimulus, raising doubts about whether these waves occurred naturally in the organism. We demonstrate here that these waves occur spontaneously both in intact tissue and in vivo, and that the rate of spontaneous wave generation increases as animals age. These spontaneous waves propagate by glial release of ATP and activation of ATP receptors on neighboring cells. Finally, spontaneous waves cause changes in blood vessel diameter. This is the first demonstration of a functional effect of spontaneous intercellular glial signaling. These results suggest a functional role for glial cell signaling in the retina and raise the possibility that glial signaling may actively participate in the aging of the nervous system.
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    Mechanisms of Thymic Involution and Therapies to Prevent or Treat the loss of Thymic Epithelial Cells
    (2016-09) Smith, Michelle
    The thymus has great importance to human health as naïve T cells cannot be generated in its absence. The composition and organization of its specialized microenvironment are the foundation of the function of the thymus. In particular, thymic epithelial cells and the segregation of their subtypes, cortical thymic epithelial cells and medullary thymic epithelial cells, into distinct areas are required for positive and negative selection of developing thymocytes. However, these cells can be lost over time through natural age-related processes and through acute injury such as chemotherapy or radiation. The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of how these losses can occur and to investigate therapies which may prevent or treat these losses. We first focus on a stem cell-based therapy for the improvement of thymopoiesis following radiation-based injury to the thymus. In it are discussed findings which describe different outcomes which may be achieved by selection of specific input populations. The disruption which the radiation-induced damage has on intrathymic migration of progenitors is also highlighted as well as the temporary nature of their stimulatory effects on thymic epithelial cells. Next, we also focus on thymic epithelial cell loss, but precipitated by advancing age. To facilitate these studies, a model of accelerated aging caused by deficiency in the gene klotho was used. We found that klotho deficiency did not impart an intrinsic defect in TEC longevity but that elements of the systemic aging environment were responsible for accelerated TEC loss in a TEC non-autonomous fashion. Specifically, high levels of vitamin D which accumulate in these mice were implicated in the induction of abnormal TEC apoptosis. Together the findings presented here advance the understanding of mechanisms which may be responsible for the loss of thymic epithelial cells, either age-related or clinically induced. Two strategies for the prevention or treatment of TEC loss are also discussed.
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    Oxidative Stress: aging and disuse.
    (2009-05) Chen, Chiao-nan
    Sarcopenia, the age-related decline of muscle mass and strength, is one major risk factor for frailty and mobility disability of the elderly. Muscle disuse due to bed rest or surgery (such as joint replacements) exacerbates the ongoing decline of muscle function in the elderly. The decline of muscle function with disuse is greater in aging muscles. However, the cellular mechanism responsible for the greater functional decline of aging muscles with disuse is unknown. Oxidative stress, a condition where the balance between oxidant production and removal is disrupted, is a shared mechanism of age and disuse related muscle dysfunction. Thus, the overall aim of my dissertation is to understand the role of oxidative stress in the age-related muscle dysfunction with disuse.Using an animal model of muscle disuse (hindlimb unloading), I tested the hypothesis that the ability of aging muscles to cope with the increased oxidative stress associated with muscle disuse is compromised. There are three major findings: (1) the regulation of glutathione (GSH), an essential endogenous antioxidant, is impaired in aging muscles with disuse; (2) the decline of GSH levels in aging muscles with disuse is associated with the decrease of glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) activity and the reduction of the catalytic subunit of GCL content; (3) using proteomic techniques, I identified two proteins (carbonic anhydrase III and four-and-a-half LIM protein1, FHL1), which show changes in the oxidation levels with disuse and aging. The changes in the oxidation levels of these two proteins with disuse occur in adult rats but not old rats. However, old rats have greater baseline levels of oxidized FHL1.In summary, the series of studies demonstrate that the response of muscles with disuse is age-dependent. The ability to maintain GSH levels with disuse is compromised in aging muscles. In addition, the changes of protein oxidation with muscle disuse occur in specific proteins and that the changes are age-related.