E-newsletter – April 2013

Other format

In this issue:

Message from the Scientific Director

The impact of the research conducted by our Canadian research community is of interest for many partners. One group is the Health Portfolio Committee on Aging and Health, which includes representatives from all branches of Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada that work in areas related to the aging population. In February I had the pleasure of presenting the CIHR Institute of Aging draft strategic plan to this group. I was pleased to see how well the proposed 2013-18 strategic plan of the Institute of Aging, a reflection of the priorities that we heard during our consultations and Speaking of Aging tour last fall, resonated with the current approach of Health Portfolio colleagues. All were enthusiastic and indicated a strong commitment to working together in a complementary fashion.

Notable was the alignment of the strategic direction on optimizing population health and wellness over the trajectory of aging with the Division of Children, Seniors and Healthy Development Public Health Agency of Canada.

The Institute’s activities in the coming years will focus on identifying tangible solutions that will make a real difference for Canada’s aging population. By jointly focusing on the health and wellness of older Canadians I anticipate working closely with Health Portfolio colleagues to optimize the real impact for the benefit of all.

The final version of the 2013-2018 strategic plan of the Institute of Aging should be available for dissemination soon. I look forward to engaging with all of our stakeholders in order to create the conditions to transform new discoveries and ideas into enhanced health and wellness of our aging Canadian population.

Yves Joanette
Scientific Director

IA News

IA’s team preparing the future of aging research - On November 22nd 2012, the IA organized a Team retreat to give shape to the IA’s Action Plan for 2013-18; based on the Strategic Plan. The team strategized on numerous activities and communication strategies that will be implemented in the upcoming years. Among other things, IA helped to organize two “Cafés Scientifiques”, one on “Food and Health” in November 8th in Montreal, in association with the CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes. This was followed by a Journalist Workshop on November 9th. The second café was on the topic of " Understanding dementia after diagnosis". This café was held on January 28 at 6:00 pm at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, ON in association with the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

Photo: Left to right: Prof. James Goodwin of AgeUK, Dr. Heung Bong Cha, President-elect of IAGG, Dr. Gloria Gutman (member of the CIHR Institute of Aging Advisory Board) and Dr. Yves Joanette (Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Aging)

IA active at the gerontological society of America - On November 14th to 18th 2012, the IA contributed in a significant manner at the Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America held in San Diego CA. The IA had a Booth, and organized a CLSA session and reception for Canadian Researchers and International Partners.

This photo was taken at the CIHR Reception for Canadian Researchers and International Partners.

Moreover, on January 29th 2013 in Montreal, the IA participated in the Planning Meeting of the Canadian Sleep and Circadian Network.

IA International

Exploring enhancing collaborations with Sweden - Dr. Yves Joanette met with Lars Wärngård (Program Director, Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Science) - Discussions included a possible partnership with the IA for the Summer Program in Aging (SPA), 2013. Many areas of common interest and expertise were identified for possible future collaborations, including research in areas such as health and retirement.

India facing the challenges of a very rapid aging of the population - India’s older population will increase dramatically over the next four decades. The portion of India’s population aged 60 and older is projected to climb from 8 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2050, according to the United Nations (2011). While in India for his scientific activities, Dr. Yves Joanette met with Pr. Arokiasamy in Mumbai, who is responsible for the Indian Longitudinal Study on Aging (LASI) in order to facilitate future connections with the CLSA.

Chile is also facing the challenges of the aging of its population – Life expectancy in Chile has increased by 20 years in just 27 short years (This same increase has taken approximately 60 years for Canada and 130 years for France). The IA represented CIHR at the International Workshop on Aging in Santiago, Chile, which took place from January 14th to 19th. Discussions were focused on the development of a National plan for Chile for the rapidly aging population and as well as for Alzheimer’s disease. On both these fronts, actions will be explored to encourage collaborations with Canadian researchers.

Going back and forth to Brazil in 2 hours - On January 29th 2013, there was a “CIHR first” virtual meeting between Brazilian and Canadian researchers in the area of neurodegenerative diseases in order to foster mutual knowledge in view of future collaborations and potential trainee exchanges. This virtual meeting was possible using web-based teleconferencing, and was thus organized without any of the usual costs related to travel and time investments.

WHO’S promotion of global health support for low-revenue countries to face Alzheimer’s threat - IA Assistant Directors Michelle Peel and Joanne Goldberg met with Dr. Shekhar Saxena, the Programme Manager of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at World Health Organization, Geneva, on December 13th 2012. Dr. Saxena is a promoter of a global health approach on neurodegenerative disorders for low-revenues countries.

International Collaborative Research Strategy for Alzheimer’s Disease News

IA facilitating discussions between EU representatives and US agencies - On November 9th, 2012 in Washington, the CIHR represented Canada at The European Union Joint Programming Initiative on Neurodegenerative Diseases Research (JPND), where the participation of US agencies in the JPND was discussed. Dr. Joanette presented the Canadian experience of being part of the JPND, which became an important point in the discussions.

Dr. Joanette actively participated as a member of the working group of the International Alzheimer's Disease Funding Organization. Numerous meetings were held in the Fall 2012 and over the course of the winter.

IA was invited to share its perspective on European Union Collaborative program (Joint Programming) - CIHR-IA represented Canada at the 2nd Biennial Joint Programming Initiative Conference (JPI 2013)- on February 28th to March 1st 2013 in Ireland. Canada was invited by the Presidency of the European Union to share the Canadian perspective on our participation in the joint programming on neurodegenerative diseases.

CIHR and its partners were pleased to announce the launch of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) Expression of Interest, March 28, 2013. As a dynamic research enterprise, the CCNA will be the premier research hub for all aspects of research involving neurodegenerative diseases that affect cognition in aging – including Alzheimer’s disease. The CCNA is the Canadian component of CIHR’s International Collaborative Research Strategy for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Research within the CCNA will be organized around three themes: primary prevention – aimed at preventing the disease from developing; secondary prevention – focused on delaying the clinical manifestations of the already developing disease; and quality of life – designed for helping individuals, caregivers and the health system in the context of a clinically developed disease.

CLSA News

The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) has recruited more than 22,000 participants – nearly halfway of its recruitment goal of 50,000. - The CLSA has started to follow men and women aged 45 to 85 at entry in the study, for a period of 20 years. Participants take part in home interviews and physical/cognitive assessments or telephone interviews. The goal of the study is to better understand the aging process and the factors that shape the way we age and use that knowledge to improve the health of Canadians.

  • This winter, CLSA open houses were held in Halifax, N.S. and Victoria, B.C. Dr. Susan Kirkland, CLSA co-principal investigator, officially launched the Halifax component of the CLSA with a ribbon cutting ceremony at Dalhousie University in January. Dr. Debra Sheets and Dr. Lynne Young, co-lead site investigators for the University of Victoria site, held the CLSA open house and media launch at the Gorge Road Hospital, where the data collection site is located.
  • In February, the CLSA Biorepository and Bioanalysis Centre – the central location for storage and analysis of the blood and urine samples collected at each of the CLSA data collection sites – filled its first liquid nitrogen freezer. More than 160,000 biological samples are already waiting for future research.
  • The CLSA hosted two CIHR Café Scientifique events this winter; one in Hamilton and one in Montreal. The Hamilton event, “Use it or lose it: Secrets of a healthy brain,” was moderated by lead principal investigator, Dr. Parminder Raina, and featured a panel of experts in the field of brain health and aging. The Montreal event, “I’m not afraid of aging: But let’s talk,” was moderated by co-principal investigator Dr. Christina Wolfson and featured experts in the field of nutrition, exercise and medicine.
  • The CLSA is continuing to actively engage potential partners. Current partnerships are now acknowledged on the Partners section of the CLSA website.
  • The Researchers section of the CLSA website has been revamped to provide more information on data and sample access. One of the underlying principles of the CLSA is that the data be made available to the research community as soon as it is feasible to do so.

For the latest news, visit CLSA website. You can also find CLSA on Facebook or follow CLSA on Twitter.

Recent Funding Highlights

IA applauds all our investigators who have been successful in the most recent competitions. Of specific interest in this issue of the Newsletter, we are specifically focusing on two Catalyst Grant Competitons: Health Services and Systems for an Aging Population, and Secondary Analysis of Neuroimaging Databases, as well as the Journalism Awards competitions.

Catalyst Grant: Health Services and Systems for an Aging Population competition to develop and exchange knowledge that will inform health services and systems across the spectrum of care for older Canadians.

  • Véronique Boscart, University of Waterloo. Enhancing care of seniors in long-term care: Impact of a Living Classroom on the Education of Personal Support Workers.
  • Andrea Gruneir, Women’s College Hospital. Lithium and Renal Disease in Older Adults.
  • Kathleen Hunter, University of Alberta. Understanding emergency department care transitions for older adults with dementia living in rural communities.
  • Mélanie Levasseur, Université de Sherbrooke. Adaptation et validation d'une intervention d'Accompagnement Personnalisé d'Intégration Communautaire (APIC) : vers une optimisation des services offerts pour répondre aux besoins de participation sociale des personnes âgées en perte d'autonomie.
  • Lisa McCarthy, Women’s College Hospital. Furthering the Foundations for a New System of Care for Vulnerable Older Adults: A Primary Care Team-Based Approach.
  • Douglas Moore, Queen’s University. Forming the Montreal Neighbourhood Networks and Healthy Aging Panel: A panel for future studies of social capital, neighbourhood environments, and heath care system use over the life course.
  • Nancy Ross, McGill University. The Health System Burden of Aging Alone.
  • Kathy Rush, University of British Columbia. Towards Integrated Care using A Risk Framework in Rural and Small Urban Communities: A Pilot Study in Older Adults with Atrial Fibrillation.

Catalyst Grant: Secondary Analysis of Neuroimaging Databases to promote the use of data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

  • Mirza Faisal Beg, Simon Fraser University. Mining the ADNI database - what can we learn about Alzheimer's?
  • Curtis Caldwell, Sunnybrook Research Institute. Automated dementia diagnosis based on texture analysis of neurologic images.
  • Simon Duchesne, Laval University. Evaluating the impact of cerebro-vascular disease burden on disease progression: retrospective analysis of ADNI data.
  • Serdar Dursun, University of Alberta. Diagnostics and Prognostics for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Machine Learning Analysis of Existing Neuroimaging Datasets.
  • Elizabeth Finger, University of Western Ontario. Delineating pathways causing vulnerability to neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease.
  • Oleg Michailovich, University of Waterloo. Advanced post-processing of diffusion tensor imaging data for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
  • Colleen Millikin, University of Manitoba. Neuroimaging Profiles of Neuropsychiatric Subgroups in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer's Disease.
  • Xiaowei Song, Dalhousie University. Modeling the heterogeneity of brain aging and dementia risk - integrating brain structural and functional changes.
  • Gary Turner, York University. Aging and large-scale brain networks: Using functional connectivity and structural covariance modeling to predict conversion from normal to pathological aging.

A second round of Secondary Analysis of Neuroimaging Databases funding is currently available.

CIHR Journalism Awards to support media stories that inform Canadians of evidence-based health-related research issues carried out by health researchers.

Margaret Webb. Older Faster Stronger, an exploration of how exercise and endurance training may stall aging by improving cardiovascular health, muscle and brain function, and protecting mitochondria from the ravages of inactivity and aging, helping shield the body from aging-related diseases and decline.

Brightest Minds

Banting Fellows

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to the country's economic, social and research based growth.

Rachel Murphy from the National Institute on Aging (Bethesda, MD), received the Banting Award for her research on “Lifetime effects of weight and weight related health conditions on healthy aging and maintenance of autonomy”. Congratulations!

Rising Stars

CIHR IA Age+ Prize

The CIHR Institute of Aging Age+ Prize recognizes excellence in research on aging carried out in Canada by graduate and postdoctoral students and clinical residents from all disciplines.

  • Jonathan Brouillette, Université Lille-Nord de France/Yale
    Neurotoxicity and memory deficits induced by soluble low-molecular-weight amyloid-β1-42oligomers are revealed in vivo by using a novel animal model
    Brouillette J., Caillierez R., Zommer N., Alves-Pires C, Benilova I., Blum D., De Strooper B., Buée L., Journal of Neuroscience, 32(23):7852–7861, 2012.
  • Tara Stewart, University of Manitoba
    Attributing illness to ‘old age:’ Consequences of a self-directed stereotype for health and mortality
    Stewart, T. L., Chipperfield, J. G., Perry, R. P., Weiner, B., Psychology and Health, 27: 881-897, 2012.
  • Benjamin Zendel, University of Toronto
    Musicians experience less age-related decline in auditory processing.
    Zendel, B.R. & Alain, C. (2012). Psychology and Aging 27(2), 410-417.

For information and how to apply for the Age+ Prize, visit the IA website.

Did You Know?

Aging of the population is a global opportunity and challenge - Aging is no longer the sole providence of more developed countries. Longer life expectancy at birth and lower fertility rates have sharply increased the proportion of elderly people in less developed countries. In 1950, 4 percent of the population in less developed countries was ages 65+. Today, that proportion has risen to nearly 6 percent but is projected to reach nearly 15 percent by mid-century. At the same, the 0-4 age range of the population will reach a peak of about 585 million in 2015 and then decline. In more developed countries, the number of children in the 0-4 age group was 82 million in 1950 but that number has been declining since the 1970s and is expected to decrease to 65 million by 2050. The proportion of people 65 years and over which was 8 percent in 1950, has increased to 16 percent today and will most likely increase to a record 26 percent by 2050.

(Source: Population reference Bureau.)

Supplemental content (right column)