living healthy longer

Michael "Mick" Smyer, former provost and emeritus professor of psychology at Bucknell University, is now the founder and CEO of Growing Greener, an initiative dedicated to mobilizing older adults to take action on climate change.In this season 4 finale, we discuss strategies for navigating conversations about climate change with those around you. We also examine why older adults are particularly vulnerable to climate change and the importance of intergenerational engagement on this critical issue. Smyer introduces Growing Greener and how it empowers individuals to shift from climate anxiety to meaningful action.--Fill out our podcast feedback form.Visit CSU's Center for Healthy Aging website in between seasons to keep up with events and programming.

Nancy Murray, an economic development specialist with Larimer County, joins to discuss an Opportunity Now grant aimed at addressing Colorado's caregiver shortage. With over 684,000 annual openings projected nationwide for home health aides, Murray explores challenges of low wages and high turnover while sharing her vision for the transformative CareCorps program. Tune in to learn how you can support this local effort in Northern Colorado.__Interested in partnering? Email murrayno@co.larimer.co.us.

Assistant Professor Julie Moreno and recently graduated Ph.D. student Amanda Latham of CSU's Toxicology program join to discuss the surprising cognitive impacts of urinary tract infections. This episode explores how UTIs can lead to delirium and neurodegeneration, the role of the brain’s immune cells in this process, and why the Dunklin Hartley guinea pig is an ideal model for studies of the aging human brain. In spring 2023, Moreno’s lab received a pilot grant from the Center for Healthy Aging to conduct this research, and the preliminary results are shared today.--Find Latham's tuberculosis publication in Frontiers in Neuroscience.Read about the Hartley guinea pig as a model of human brain aging in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A.

Aga Burzynska, an associate professor at CSU and director of The BRAiN Lab, shares her latest research, published in Neurobiology of Aging, which studied 141 adults aged 20 to 80. Burzynska's team found that myelin, the protective insulation around nerves, peaks in our 40s and 50s before gradually declining. This decline, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, is linked to reduced memory performance with age. We delve into these findings and what they mean for understanding the aging brain and neurocognitive decline. --Find the publication here.

Regional Director Lily Griego from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services discusses recent initiatives impacting adults in Colorado, including the HHS's mission to address maternal care, mental health destigmatization, and rural health care accessibility, along with the Inflation Reduction Act's role in reducing health care costs for older adults.Further reading:Strengthening Maternal HealthSAMSHA Announces $39.4 Million in Funding Opportunities for Grants to Help Advance the President’s Unity AgendaBiden-Harris Administration taking actions to improve the health of rural communitiesFact Sheet: One Year In, President Biden’s Inflation Reduction ActFact Sheet: Advancing Health Equity Across HHSSAMSHA Announces $36.9 Million in Behavioral Health Funding Opportunities ASPE Office of Health Policy: Insulin Affordability and the Inflation Reduction Act

Dr. Greg Gahm – a geriatrician, Corporate Medical Director for Vivage Senior Living, and an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at CU Anschutz – discusses the long-term care industry over the decades, including the different types of long-term care available, standards of care provided, and the impact of the pandemic on cost dynamics and staffing structures. If you're just getting introduced to long-term care, this is the episode for you.

Today's episode revisits every guest from season 3 of living healthy longer and their answers to the S3 standing question: Can you identify a major challenge in your field that must be overcome to see real improvements in healthspan or healthy aging research?___Fill out the podcast feedback form! Your response will help our host plan future episodes.Sign up here to participate in healthy aging studies at CSU.Join CSU's Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging newsletter listserv.

According to the CDC, health disparities are "preventable differences in the burden of disease...that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations."Ronica Rooks, a professor of health and behavioral sciences at CU-Denver, joins to discuss racial and ethnic health disparities affecting older adults. Gentrification and social determinants of health are explored, as well as Rooks' studies on working and volunteering as strategies to stave off dementia risk.____"Key Data on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity" by the Kaiser Family Foundation."Minority Population Profiles" from HHS Office of Minority Health.2023 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures from the AA.Learn about the 3-30-300 rule on Wild Ideas Worth Living.

Is it possible that researchers can find signs of future cognitive decline in muscles before the brain ever shows a deficit? Shelby Osburn, a postdoctoral researcher in CSU's Healthspan Biology Lab, thinks yes. In this episode, Osburn describes her recent proposal to examine the fascinating relationship between skeletal muscle and Alzheimer's disease.

About five years ago, some patients in Denver were suffering from a stubborn lung disease that, despite ongoing treatments, was not responding to antibiotics. Patients' symptoms kept worsening, and Drs. Alan Schenkel and Ed Chan were curious.Tune in to hear them describe NTM infection, a lung disease that is becoming more common in adults over the age of 50. What are nontuberculous mycobacteria, and what is it about certain people’s immune responses that make them more susceptible to NTM infection than others?___Read more about NTM from the American Lung Association.

Dr. Stephen Aichele, a quantitative psychologist at CSU, describes the relationship between depression and cognitive decline, and how data science methods can be used to determine predictors of cognitive changes. We briefly discuss the effects of air pollution and lead exposure on cognitive development, and Aichele shares what his research reveals about three key predictors of depression risk following middle age: social isolation, poor health and mobility issues.

Josiane Broussard – an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science and the director of the Sleep and Metabolism Lab at CSU – explains the importance of sleep and why this essential behavior is key to every process in the body. How do our sleeping patterns change with age, and what can you do to build a better sleep schedule?___Find tips for healthy sleep from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

Today's episode revisits every guest from Season 2 of living healthy longer and what makes them most excited for the future of aging studies. Where is aging research going and what makes CHA affiliate faculty hopeful?Our show will return for Season 3 in January 2023! Sign up for our newsletter at healthyaging.colostate.edu for updates in the meantime.