Biomedical Advances in Aging

The VIIIth Annual International Spring Symposium on Health Sciences held at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., attracted over three hun­ dred fifty scientists from twenty-five countries. The leading scientific experts in the field reported on recent biomedical advances in aging. They provided an up-to-date account of the molecular, genetic, nutritional, and immunological mechanisms associated with the aging process and approaches to intervention and treatment of the major disorders associated with the aging process, including Alzheimer's disease. A unique aspect of this meeting was a concurrent one-day hearing of the U.S. Senate Sub-Committee on Aging, organized by the Alliance for Aging Research. The theme for the hearing was "Advances in Aging Research." Seven scientists attending our aging sym­ posium were asked to testify. They were Drs. Carl Cotman (University of California-Irvine), Trudy Bush (Johns Hopkins University), Takashi Makinodan (University of California-Los Angeles), William Ershler (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Gino Doria (ENEA, Rome), Mr. Dan Perry (Director of the Alliance for Aging Research), and myself.

Contenu

I-Molecular Biology, Virology, and Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease.- 1. Brain Amyloidoses: Precursor Proteins and the Amyloids of Transmissible and Nontransmissible Dementias: Scrapie-Kuru-CJD Viruses as Infectious Polypeptides or Amyloid-Enhancing Factors.- 2. Prions Causing Neurodegenerative Diseases: Immunoaffinity Purification and Neutralization of Scrapie Infectivity.- 3. The Molecular Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease.- 4. A Developmental Genetic Approach to the Analysis of Aging Processes.- 5. Alzheimer's Disease: Enter Protein Chemistry.- 6. Evidence for the Molecular Basis of Aging and Sequestration of Mammalian Erythrocytes.- 7. ?1-Antichymotrypsin: The Role of Proteases and Their Inhibitors in the Amyloid Deposition of Alzheimer's Disease and Normal Brain Aging.- 8. Replication of Adenovirus 2 and Adeno-Associated Virus 2 in Young and Senescent Human Diploid Fibroblasts.- 9. Lactoferrin Immunoreactivity and Binding Sites in Neurons, Neuritic Plaques, and Neurofibrillary Tangles in Alzheimer's Disease.- 10. Immunological Investigation of Thymic-Dependent Immunity in Normal Aging and in Patients with Senile Dementia of Alzheimer Type.- II-Metabolic, Membrane, and Cellular Markers and Models.- 11. Chronic Diseases and Disorders: A Hypothesis Suggesting an Age-Dependent versus an Age-Related Class.- 12. Changes in Receptors and Signal Transduction Events during Aging.- 13. Molecular Aging of Membrane Molecules and Cellular Removal.- 14. Health Watch: A Longitudinal Prospective Study of Healthy Aging in 2200 Individuals: I. Preliminary Analysis of Biochemical, Hematological, and Physiological Data for Males and Females. Application to the Care of Older Patients.- 15. Plasma ?-Tocopherol Levels in Men and Women of Different Ages.- 16. Polyenoic Fatty Acid Metabolism and Prostaglandin Biosynthesis in Aged Persons.- 17. Altered Phosphatidylinositol Breakdown in Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes with Aging.- 18. Rejoining of X-Ray-Induced DNA Double-Strand Breaks Declines in Unstimulated Human Lymphocytes Aging in Vivo.- 19. Interventive Gerontology, Cloning, and Cryonics: Relevance to Life Extension.- 20. Effects of Various Stimulators and Inhibitors on the Respiratory Burst of PMNL with Aging.- 21. Quantitative Approaches to Pathogenesis of Age-Related Metabolic Conditions.- III-Role of Nutritional, Dietary, and Immune Factors in the Pathogenesis of Aging.- 22. Nutritional Requirements in Aging.- 23. Influence of Dietary Restriction and Aging on Gene Expression in the Immune System of Rats.- 24. Zinc, Immunity, and Aging.- 25. Neuroendocrine Effects of Lifelong Dietary Restriction by Intermittent Feeding in Mice.- 26. Age-Associated Decline in Renal Response to Vasopressin: Diminished Adenylate Cyclase Activation in Collecting Ducts.- 27. Obesity and Lipoproteins: Influence of Weight Reduction in Postmenopausal Woman.- 28. Phenotype and Function of Lymphocyte Clones from Old and Young Subjects.- 28. Calorie Restriction and Longevity.- 29. Effect of Dietary Linolenate on the Pathogenesis of Fever.- 30. Poor Early Growth and Adult Mental and Somatic Health.- IV-Immunological Components and Immunoregulation in Aging.- 32. Alterations in B Cells and Antibodies of Aged Mice.- 33. Molecular Genetic Analysis of Human Monoclonal Gammopathies.- 34. Developmental Aspects of T Lymphocytes in Aging.- 35. Role of the Thymus in Aging of the Immune System.- 36. Modulation of T-Cell Functions in Aging.- 37. Age-Related Decline in Immunological Resistance to Infection: Murine Trypanosomiasis as a Model.- 38. The Clinical Significance of Immune Senescence: Advantages and Disadvantages.- 39. Immunosenescence and Human NK Cells.- 40. Regulation of the Expressed Idiotypic Repertoire in the Normal Immune Response of the Aged.- 41. Analysis of the Ability of Spleen Cells from Aged Mice to Produce Allospecific Cytotoxic Cells.- V-The Brain, Neuroendocrine Circuits, Pathology, and Plasticity.- 42. Neuronal Populations in Normal and Abnormal Aging.- 43. An Optimistic View of the Aging Brain.- 44. Complex Maze Learning in Rodents: Progress and Potential for Modeling Age-Related Memory Dysfunction.- 45. Age-Related Changes in Brain Protein Kinase C and Serotonin Release.- 46. Increased Blood Flow Augments CNS Axon Regeneration.- 47. Free and Bound Polyamines in Normal and Alzheimer Temporal Cortex.- 48. Neurochemical and Behavioral Effects of Bilateral Nucleus Basalis Lesions in the Aged Rat.- 49. Dopaminergic Neurons in the Substantia Nigra in Normal Aging and MPTP-Lesioned Mice.- 50. Synaptic Plasticity and Aging.- VI-Immunological, Endocrine, and Pharmacological Approaches to Treatment of Diseases of Aging.- 51. Influenza and Aging: Immunological Methods of Enhancing Influenza Vaccine Response in Elderly People.- 52. Age-Dependent Enhancement of Influenza Vaccine Responses by Thymosin in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients.- 53. Lipid and Lipoprotein Changes Due to Estrogen Replacement Therapies and Their Association with Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Postmenopausal Women.- 54. Immunopotentiating Activity of Thymopentin Treatment in Elderly Subjects.- 55. Thymopentin Therapy in Elderly Patients with Chronic Bronchitis: A Clinical and Cellular Study.- 56. Aspirin and Risks of Cardiovascular Disease in the Physicians' Health Study.- Participants.