Hebrew SeniorLife and Duke University receive $10.5 million award to study osteoporosis care in fracture patients

PCORI funded study designed to support high-quality care through the health system for patients with fractures

2023-07-24

(Press-News.org) Broken bones in later life are a leading cause of disability, recurrent fracture, nursing home placement, and death.

Prior studies have shown that health care providers can prevent poor outcomes, including death, by treating patients with bone-strengthening medications and by stopping risky medications that cause falls. However, few patients receive this high-quality care because it is time consuming and requires specialized knowledge that primary care providers may not have.

Researchers from Hebrew SeniorLife and Duke University will undertake a 5.5-year study that will compare two care models that have previously been shown to improve care in skilled nursing facilities. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has approved $10.5 million in funding to support the study, entitled “Models of Post-Acute Care in Complex Older Adults with Fracture.”

Forty-two skilled nursing facilities will be enrolled in this study, which will compare two care models: a fracture liaison service in which recommendations are given to start medications to strengthen bones; and a deprescribing care model, which helps patients reduce medications that cause falls.

Both models are led by a remote nurse who will engage patients and providers in the decision making process.

“The study is exciting because it will help provide patients who have recently experienced a fracture and their families to make personalized choices about starting medications to prevent more broken bones and stopping risky medications that cause falls,” said Sarah Berry, MD, MPH, clinical researcher at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

“The study will prepare us to spread the care models to health systems so that all patients can receive high-quality care after having a broken bone,” said Cathleen S. Colon-Emeric, MD, FACP, MHS, Professor of Medicine; Chief, Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine.

About The Study

In random order, our study team will provide the fracture liaison service care model for 6 months, the deprescribing care model for 6 months, or both models simultaneously for 6 months. All patients who are admitted to a participating facility after a broken bone will receive the model that facility is being offered at that time. Patients will be followed for about 2 years using information that is already in their electronic health record and from Medicare to see if they have fewer injuries from falls compared to similar patients in facilities that don’t offer these care models. Patients or their caregivers will be asked to complete a survey 90 days after admission. We will compare whether important symptoms like pain, anxiety, sleep, and medication side effects are different in patients treated with the different care models.

About Hebrew SeniorLife

Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 3,000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $85 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 1,000 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research

Scientists at the Marcus Institute seek to transform the human experience of aging by conducting research that will ensure a life of health, dignity, and productivity into advanced age. The Marcus Institute carries out rigorous studies that discover the mechanisms of age-related disease and disability; lead to the prevention, treatment, and cure of disease; advance the standard of care for older people; and inform public decision-making.

Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development

The Aging Center is a multi-disciplinary hub for the promotion of healthy aging across the lifespan and management of social and medical complexities in late life. With more than 150 affiliated faculty members from across the University and Medical Center, and millions of dollars annually in aging-related research funding, the Center is a vital national resource for the study of aging

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

A multiplex assay to assess activated p300/CBP in circulating prostate tumor cells

2023-07-24

“The results from this initial cohort support the integration of these biomarkers into prospective clinical trials.” BUFFALO, NY- July 24, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on July 20, 2023, entitled, “Development of a multiplex assay to assess activated p300/CBP in circulating prostate tumor cells.” Reduced SIRT2 deacetylation and increased p300 acetylation activity leads to a concerted mechanism of hyperacetylation at specific histone lysine sites (H3K9, H3K14, and H3K18) in castration-resistant ...

UPMC and Pitt researchers identify link between cancer-causing gene and aging

2023-07-24

A gene called Myc (pronounced “mick”) that is among the most important drivers of cancer in both mice and humans also plays a newly discovered crucial role in aging, according to a new Cell Reports study by researchers at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The research, led by Edward V. Prochownik, M.D., Ph.D., the Paul C. Gaffney Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at UPMC Children’s and professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, has implications for newer forms of cancer therapy. Myc has traditionally been ...

Dance and the state: Research explores ballet training in Ukraine

2023-07-24

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Ballet training centers of Ukraine successfully resist co-optation by both neo-imperial and nationalist ideologies, forming robust and inclusive dancing communities that in many ways mirror structures of modern Ukrainian society, according to research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. The signature Vaganova style of Soviet ballet can be described in a number of ways: exacting, athletic, classical, Russian. It’s also uniform across post-Soviet training academies, including those based in now-independent Ukraine. Training shapes bodies, and post-Soviet dancers still begin ...

New study reveals why defense against brain corrosion declines in people with Alzheimer’s disease

2023-07-24

A new study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University revealed that the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be slowed by suppressing a specific protein in the brain that causes corrosion. A main pathogenic initiator of AD and related dementias is oxidative stress, which corrodes the brain, called oxidative damage. David E. Kang, the Howard T. Karsner Professor in Pathology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and the study’s lead researcher, said they’ve identified for the first time a cause ...

Key to preventing HIV progression lies in the gut

2023-07-24

Restoring and improving gut health may be key to slowing HIV progression to AIDS, according to a new study by University of Pittsburgh infectious diseases scientists published today in the journal JCI Insight. The animal study, which was performed with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the monkey form of HIV, revealed that tackling only systemic immune activation and inflammation when attempting to control disease progression and comorbidities isn’t effective. Instead, treatments should target the root cause of those problems and focus on healing the gut. “It ...

New studies show daily prune consumption supports cardiovascular health in aging population

2023-07-24

ROSEVILLE, CALIF. – July 24, 2023 – A pair of new studies presented as abstracts today at the American Society of Nutrition (ASN) annual meeting report that daily prune consumption has promising effects on several biomarkers related to cardiovascular health. Conducted in postmenopausal women and men 55 years and older, the studies reveal: In men, long-term prune consumption improved HDL cholesterol and the total cholesterol to HDL ratio, while decreasing oxidative stress and the inflammatory biomarker C-reactive protein ...

Novel thermal sensor could help drive down the heat

2023-07-24

Excess heat from electronic or mechanical devices is a sign or cause of inefficient performance. In many cases, embedded sensors to monitor the flow of heat could help engineers alter device behavior or designs to improve their efficiency. For the first time, researchers exploit a novel thermoelectric phenomenon to build a thin sensor that can visualize heat flow in real time. The sensor could be built deep inside devices where other kinds of sensors are impractical. It is also quick, cheap and easy to manufacture using well-established methods. According ...

Risk of forced labor is widespread in U.S. food supply, study finds

2023-07-24

Eliminating forced labor is a vital starting point for creating a just and sustainable food supply, but most of us don’t know much about the labor conditions involved in producing our food. It’s possible that the people who picked and processed some of the items on our dinner table worked in conditions that involved force, fraud, coercion, or debt bondage. In a study published July 24 in Nature Food, researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and the University of Nottingham Rights Lab calculated the risk of forced labor across all aspects of the U.S. food supply, excluding seafood. They found that the majority of forced ...

Association of early-, middle-, and late-life depression with incident dementia

2023-07-24

About The Study: The results of this study of more than 1.4 million adult Danish citizens followed up from 1977 to 2018 suggest that the risk of dementia was more than doubled for both men and women with diagnosed depression. The persistent association between dementia and depression diagnosed in early and middle life suggests that depression may increase dementia risk. Authors: Holly Elser, M.D., Ph.D., of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.2309) Editor’s ...

Study improves understanding of how bacteria benefit plant growth

2023-07-24

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Plants form alliances with microbes in the soil in which they grow. Legumes, for example, benefit from a symbiotic relationship with microbes that inhabit nodules in their roots and “fix” nitrogen in the atmosphere to make it available to promote the legumes’ growth. But are microbes always beneficial to plants? Or does competition between strains for plant access degrade the service the bacteria ultimately provide? A team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, set up experiments to answer these questions and better understand the competition process. The researchers used a native ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research