TY - JOUR
T1 - Aging, the central nervous system, and mobility
AU - Rosso, Andrea L.
AU - Studenski, Stephanie A.
AU - Chen, Wen G.
AU - Aizenstein, Howard J.
AU - Alexander, Neil B.
AU - Bennett, David A.
AU - Black, Sandra E.
AU - Camicioli, Richard
AU - Carlson, Michelle C.
AU - Ferrucci, Luigi
AU - Guralnik, Jack M.
AU - Hausdorff, Jeffrey M.
AU - Kaye, Jeff
AU - Launer, Lenore J.
AU - Lipsitz, Lewis A.
AU - Verghese, Joe
AU - Rosano, Caterina
N1 - Funding Information:
Supplementary Material Supplementary material can be found at: http://biomedgerontology. oxfordjournals.org/ Funding This work was supported by a co-operative conference grant (National Institute on Aging, U13-AG-041613-01), the University of Pittsburgh Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (National Institute on Aging, P30-AG-024827), and a postdoctoral training grant (National Institute on Aging, T32-AG-000181).
PY - 2013/11
Y1 - 2013/11
N2 - Background. Mobility limitations are common and hazardous in community-dwelling older adults but are largely understudied, particularly regarding the role of the central nervous system (CNS). This has limited development of clearly defined pathophysiology, clinical terminology, and effective treatments. Understanding how changes in the CNS contribute to mobility limitations has the potential to inform future intervention studies. Methods. A conference series was launched at the 2012 conference of the Gerontological Society of America in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging and the University of Pittsburgh. The overarching goal of the conference series is to facilitate the translation of research results into interventions that improve mobility for older adults. Results. Evidence from basic, clinical, and epidemiological studies supports the CNS as an important contributor to mobility limitations in older adults without overt neurologic disease. Three main goals for future work that emerged were as follows: (a) develop models of mobility limitations in older adults that differentiate aging from disease-related processes and that fully integrate CNS with musculoskeletal contributors; (b) quantify the contribution of the CNS to mobility loss in older adults in the absence of overt neurologic diseases; (c) promote cross-disciplinary collaboration to generate new ideas and address current methodological issues and barriers, including real-world mobility measures and life-course approaches. Conclusions. In addition to greater cross-disciplinary research, there is a need for new approaches to training clinicians and investigators, which integrate concepts and methodologies from individual disciplines, focus on emerging methodologies, and prepare investigators to assess complex, multisystem associations.
AB - Background. Mobility limitations are common and hazardous in community-dwelling older adults but are largely understudied, particularly regarding the role of the central nervous system (CNS). This has limited development of clearly defined pathophysiology, clinical terminology, and effective treatments. Understanding how changes in the CNS contribute to mobility limitations has the potential to inform future intervention studies. Methods. A conference series was launched at the 2012 conference of the Gerontological Society of America in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging and the University of Pittsburgh. The overarching goal of the conference series is to facilitate the translation of research results into interventions that improve mobility for older adults. Results. Evidence from basic, clinical, and epidemiological studies supports the CNS as an important contributor to mobility limitations in older adults without overt neurologic disease. Three main goals for future work that emerged were as follows: (a) develop models of mobility limitations in older adults that differentiate aging from disease-related processes and that fully integrate CNS with musculoskeletal contributors; (b) quantify the contribution of the CNS to mobility loss in older adults in the absence of overt neurologic diseases; (c) promote cross-disciplinary collaboration to generate new ideas and address current methodological issues and barriers, including real-world mobility measures and life-course approaches. Conclusions. In addition to greater cross-disciplinary research, there is a need for new approaches to training clinicians and investigators, which integrate concepts and methodologies from individual disciplines, focus on emerging methodologies, and prepare investigators to assess complex, multisystem associations.
KW - Central nervous system
KW - Mobility
KW - Motor control
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885830132&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84885830132&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/gerona/glt089
DO - 10.1093/gerona/glt089
M3 - Article
C2 - 23843270
AN - SCOPUS:84885830132
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 68
SP - 1379
EP - 1386
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
IS - 11
ER -