The Clinical and Translational Science Institute has one mission: to facilitate the translation of research advances into clinical and public health practice and policy—bridging the laboratory bench to patient bedside to community-based practice. To achieve this goal, CTSI is working to join together existing programs with new initiatives to create an awareness and understanding of the benefits to health that can be realized from research. CTSI has established 10 core divisions to take on this mission. Community PARTners (Partnering to Assist Research and Translation) is one of these cores. It aims to be an essential link between the University and the community, which is why they are teaming up with the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and the New Pittsburgh Courier to let people know about health information and research that is going on right now.

Grocery shopping, playing with the kids, bathing, going to work—these are activities many of us do regularly without much thought. But, imagine if you had trouble moving around or walking: How would you perform the demands of daily life? Most of us take good mobility—the ability to move well and easily—for granted, but it is one of the most important ways to stay healthy and is one of the most common ways our function becomes limited as we age. In fact, studies have shown that walking speed is a powerful predictor of how healthy you are and will be in the future. By age 75, more than half of us will have trouble walking just a few blocks (as seen in Figure 1).

(ARA)—With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day—and according to recently released research, a majority of them expecting to live to nearly 90—the celebration of older Americans is a developing trend, and more people are aspiring to live longer and better than ever before.

The latest research conducted by Gallup and Robinson as part of Pfizer’s Get Old initiative asked more than 1,000 Americans 18 to 65+ years old how they feel about getting old. The results showed that priorities and perceptions about aging shift over time.

Key findings of the research include:

• Nearly half of those over 50 (41 percent) said they were “optimistic” about getting old as compared with “uneasy”, “angry” or “prepared”

We all know that exercise is good for us, but it is often really hard to start or stick to an exercise program. Many reasons keep us from exercising—busy schedules, limited ability to travel, weather and even the sometimes boring nature of exercise routines. These problems are often especially hard on women in midlife, who often have demanding responsibilities at work and at home. One of the ways to overcome these barriers to exercise is to make it more convenient and more fun. Also, while exercise is likely to help with fitness, strength and possibly weight loss, exercise might also help with concentration and alertness.
The University of Pittsburgh Pepper Center is offering a research study of two types of exercise—brisk walking or dancing. This study is for women aged 50 to 65 who are not currently exercising and are at or above their recommended body weight. The study assesses exercise effects on fitness, strength, weight control, mental concentration as well as enjoyment. To be in the study, participants will first undergo health screening and, if eligible, will be randomized (like flipping a coin) to one type of exercise. Participants will be expected to come to the exercise program in Oakland twice a week for two weeks and then once a week for another several weeks. They will then be able to choose whether they wish to exercise on their own or at our exercise site. Researchers will evaluate the effects of the program at 12 and 24 weeks. All participants must be willing to have a brain scan at the beginning and after 12 weeks. Reimbursement is provided for participants’ time and transportation costs related to the scheduled assessments. For further information, contact Courtney at 412-692-2331.

Walking problems, such as walking slower and greater effort to walk, are common among older people. Some older people have similar complaints about thinking and describe thinking as seeming slower and sometimes requiring more effort. Exercise has been shown to improve walking ability and has been helpful in improving thinking, but the best exercise to enhance good walking and good thinking ability is not known. It is important in maintaining safety and daily life activities to know if some type of exercise can help walking while thinking.