Aging Focused Symposia at ISOT 2008

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Support is requested for symposia focused on mechanisms of aging at the International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste (ISOT) to be held in San Francisco, CA, July 21-26, 2008. Optimum health, functioning and nutritional status are key to the quality of life in the older American. More than 35 million Americans are over the age of 60, and the oldest old represent the fastest growing segment of the American population. Older persons are more frequent consumers of health care services and, when health fails, of long-term care facilities. The costs of these services are rising. Impairment of taste and olfactory function can negatively impact dietary selection, nutritional status, morbidity and mortality in older persons. Aging is accompanied by significant impairment in chemosensory function. Patients with Alzheimer's disease exhibit particularly profound loss in olfactory function. Yet, despite significant losses in chemosensory function in aging and dementia, little is understood about the mechanisms underlying this impairment. This application proposes to enhance the ISOT 2008 meeting by inviting scientists from outside the chemical senses to focus attention on chemosensory aging, encourage the use of genetic, cellular and molecular biological techniques to investigate mechanisms of aging, highlight findings in other sensory systems important for understanding chemosensory aging, stimulate new, innovative research directed at chemosensory aging, and foster education about chemosensory aging. In exploring mechanisms underlying aging and longevity, adult neurogenesis, neurodegenerative diseases, age-related impairment in other sensory and motor systems; the symposia supported by this application will facilitate greater understanding of chemosensory aging and stimulate new, innovative research into its underlying mechanisms. A better understanding of chemosensory function in aging may suggest avenues to address age-related impairment. While frailty and weight loss in the elderly are poor prognostic factors for debility and mortality, epidemic increase in middle-aged obesity with associated cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and the "metabolic syndrome" is creating an enormous public health burden with grave implications for the next generation of older adults. Middle-aged obese individuals have a higher risk of nursing home admission in late life and reducing obesity rates may thus reduce the later societal burden of nursing home care of the elderly. Clear elucidation of age-related changes in chemosensory function may suggest avenues to modulate food intake, obesity in middle aged and frailty in older adults. Investigation of the underlying mechanisms for the profound impairment in olfactory function in Alzheimer's disease may contribute to an understanding of the disease process and to potential interventions. Support is requested for symposia focused on mechanisms of aging at the International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste (ISOT) to be held in San Francisco, CA, July 21-26, 2008 in order to invite scientists from outside the chemical senses to focus attention on the understudied area of mechanisms underlying impairment in chemosensory function in aging, encourage the use of genetic, cellular and molecular biological techniques to investigate mechanisms of chemosensory aging and neurogenesis and longevity, highlight findings in other sensory systems important for understanding chemosensory function in aging and Alzheimer's disease, and stimulate new, innovative research directed at understanding the mechanisms of chemosensory aging. The impairment in olfactory and taste function seen in the elderly can negatively impact dietary selection, nutritional status, morbidity and mortality in older persons; and the consequences associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and the "metabolic syndrome" are creating an enormous public health burden with grave implications for the next generation of older adults. Clear elucidation of age-related changes in chemosensory function may suggest avenues to modulate food intake, obesity in middle age and frailty in older adults.