[ASG Roster]

The Aging Systems and Geriatrics study section reviews applications involving aging humans or animals, in particular studies of postmaturational changes, which transcend single organ systems or disciplines, and which may require integrated experimental, genetic or observational approaches.

Specific areas covered by ASG:

• Age-related changes in the regulation of complex physiological functions, such as the musculoskeletal system (including motor function, postural control, and balance); metabolic/endocrine systems (including impaired glucose tolerance); reproductive systems (including menopause and andropause); host defense responses to infection, injury or other stresses (including immunologic function); blood pressure; body weight, body temperature, fluid and electrolyte homeostasis, as well as the study of interventions to ameliorate these age-related changes.
• Geriatric syndromes (i.e., age-related conditions involving multiple systems and/or multifactorial mechanisms) and their prevention or treatment. These include: falls, syncope, frailty, immobility, delirium, incontinence, polypharmacy, malnutrition, mood disorders, sarcopenia, chronic pain, loss of functional independence, and failure to thrive. Interventions may include exercise, hormones, nutrition, medications, technology, and lifestyle modifications.
• Descriptive, mechanistic, and intervention studies of geriatric diseases affecting multiple body systems that are unique or highly prevalent in elderly people or aging animals. The focus should be on an aging population, the role of comorbid health conditions, or complex outcomes relating to overall functional status and multiple systems. Examples include congestive heart failure (especially, diastolic dysfunction), atrial fibrillation, hypertension (especially systolic hypertension), type 2 diabetes and its complications, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and related bone fractures.
• Regulation of life span and rates of aging changes in animal models employing approaches such as comparative biology, caloric restriction, and animals especially resistant to aging processes.
• Development and validation of predictive markers of biological health and aging.
• Studies of mechanisms of exceptional aging, including premature aging syndromes, extreme longevity and factors contributing to sustained health without significant diseases or disability into advanced age.
• Age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and dynamics.
• Modeling of complex regulatory networks (such as those affecting cardiovascular function, circadian rhythms, and postural control) and their alteration with age.

ASG has the following shared interest within the BDA IRG:

• With Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development [CMAD]:  Studies with a primary focus on physiologic mechanisms of aging, geriatric syndromes and the effect of aging on manifestations of geriatric diseases and/or involving multiple organs or systems could be reviewed by ASG. Studies focused on basic molecular and cellular aspects of aging could be reviewed by CMAD when those studies concern fundamental cell or molecular biology and by ASG when those studies concern systems-level approaches or analyses.

ASG has the following shared interests outside of the BDA IRG:

• With the Bioengineering Sciences and Technologies [BST] IRG:   Applications that focus on basic modeling techniques could be assigned to BST. Applications that apply modeling techniques to the aging process could be assigned to ASG.
  
  
• With the Health of the Population [HOP]; Risk, Prevention and Health Behavior [RPHB] and Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes [BBBP] IRGs: Applications with a primary focus on physiologic or biological processes could be reviewed by ASG when an aging population is specifically studied. However, applications with a primary focus on behavioral or social antecedents or outcomes, e.g., epidemiologic studies, dementia, falls, mood disorders, behavioral prevention and management of physical diseases, and cognitive or linguistic impairments, could be reviewed by the HOP, RPHB and BBBP IRGs.
  
  
• With the Oncological Sciences [ONC]; Hematology [HEME]; and Cardiovascular Sciences [CVS] IRGs: Studies primarily focused on a single organ or system or a specific disease in which age-related interactions or changes of function are a minor or secondary component could be reviewed by the appropriate organ or system IRG, such as ONC, HEM and CVS. Studies in which the focus is aging, particularly those that transcend single organ systems or disciplines, could be reviewed in ASG. Cancer and arterial sclerosis, though increased in prevalence with age, could remain with ONC or CVS, except when the focus is on the contribution of the aging process rather than on the disease.
  
  
• With the Endocrinology, Metabolism, Nutrition and Reproductive Sciences [EMNR] IRG:  Male and female reproductive aging across and within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (H-P-G) axis and other reproductive tissues where the focus is on the endocrine system could be assigned to EMNR. If the focus is on mechanisms of aging, such as oxidative stress, DNA damage, or cellular senescence, particularly when the study transcends single organ systems or disciplines, the applications could be assigned to ASG. Interactions between the H-P-G axis and non-reproductive physiologic systems could be assigned to ASG if the focus is on aging research. Areas of unavoidable shared interest such as menopause would be resolved according to the central focus of the application.
  
  
• With the Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences [MOSS] IRG: Aging studies that use the musculoskeletal system as a model to address questions having applicability beyond the musculoskeletal system may be assigned to ASG. Studies that address questions applicable to the musculoskeletal system or its diseases may be assigned to MOSS. When osteoporosis is a secondary aspect of a multi-system study of the aging process, assignment could be to ASG; when osteoporosis is the primary focus of study, assignment could be to MOSS. Studies of aging, disability, and rehabilitation medicine are shared with MOSS. Musculoskeletal studies involving interactions with age-related changes in other physiological systems could be assigned to ASG. When musculoskeletal function or rehabilitation is the primary study focus, assignment could be to MOSS.
  
  
• With the Digestive Sciences [DIG]; Respiratory Sciences [RES]; and Renal and Urological Sciences [RUS] IRGs:  Studies primarily focused on a single organ or system or a specific disease in which age-related interactions or changes of function are a minor or secondary component could be reviewed by the appropriate organ or system IRG, such as DIG, RES and RUS. Studies in which the focus is aging, particularly those that transcend single organ systems or disciplines, could be reviewed in ASG. Areas of shared interest may include pharmacokinetic changes during aging.
  
  
• With the Integrative, Functional, and Cognitive Neuroscience [IFCN] IRG: Applications with a primary focus on aging aspects of motor movement integration or memory could be reviewed by ASG particularly when the studies transcend single organ systems or disciplines. Aging studies of motor movement integration and memory in the context of cognitive neuroscience could be assigned to IFCN.
  
  
• With the Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience [BDCN] IRG: Applications with a primary focus on specific neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, could be reviewed in BDCN; however, proposals focused on multiple system manifestations of such diseases, including gait abnormalities, could be reviewed by ASG.