|
Research Focus:
Basic Biomedical: Neurosciences/Metabolism/Nutrition
Exploring the role of striatal metabolic glutamate receptors in movement disorders such as Parkinson's Disease. Assessing the effects of targeted intervention to improve the mobility of frail, older individuals. Defining the genes responsible for paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis and heredity spastic paraplegia.Determining the role of amyloid precursor protein processing by chaperone protein in the accumulation of amyloid in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's. Defining the molecular mechanisms that induce apoptosis in diabetic neuropathy. Defining age-related impairment in immune response and mapping genes that influence the length of disease-free life span.
Applied Clinical: Autonomic Function, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension
Quantifying abnormalities of insulin secretion in older individuals with normal and impaired glucose tolerance. Determine that older hypertensives are characterized by higher levels of a-adrenergic eceptor responsiveness for their level of sympathetic nervous systerm activity and that older hypertensive individuals who are sodium resistant are characterized by metabolic insulin resistance. Define that periodontal disease is an independent risk factor for stroke and coronary artery disease.
Health Services: Cost and Quality of Health Care
Development of the National Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) for nursing home residents, home care and psychiatric care. Development of quality indicators utilizing information from the RAI. Defining characteristics of nursing home and home care patients which predict their utilization of medical services. Determining outcomes of patients treated for depression, dementia or depression combined with dementia. Determining racial and ethnic differences in psychiatric diagnosis and health services utilization among the elderly.
Education Focus:
Provides continuing education programs in local and VISN settings, as well as regularly scheduled clinical geriatric teaching conferences. Serves as the primary site for education and training of physicians and allied health professionals in geriatrics, including an integrated Geriatric fellowship program for geriatric medicine, neurology, psychiatry and dentistry.
Clinical Focus:
Developed a model of care program which has successfully reduced the incidence of aspiration pneumonia. Clinical care sites include a geriatric evaluation and management unit, a geriatric outpatient clinic and a geriatric inpatient consultative service.
|
