IU GERIATRICS electronic news for April 2003

The IU Geriatrics Program and the IU Center for Aging Research congratulate GRACE--Geriatrics Resources for Assessment and Collaborative Care of Elders--for reaching a milestone. The faculty, staff, and research personnel recently celebrated the recruitment of 500 patients into this home-based model of primary care. The effectiveness of the model is being tested in a randomized controlled clinical trial. The GRACE principal investigator is Steve Counsell, MD.

On Thursday, April 10, 2002, the Bowen Research Center Lecture Series will feature Vipin Jain, MD, who will present his recent research, "Proactive Communication Improves Quality of Life Among The Elderly" from noon to 1:00pm in the Nursing Building, Room 204. Dr. Jain will begin an IU Geriatrics Fellowship July 1. Info about registration and lunch is at http://www.iufammed.iupui.edu/calendar/default.htm.

PUBLICATIONS

Weiner M, Fan MY, Johnson BA, Kasper JD, Anderson GF, Fried LP. Predictors of Health Resource Use by Disabled Older Female Medicare Beneficiaries Living in the Community. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003 Mar;51(3):371-79.

Guerriero Austrom M, Perkins AJ, Damush TM, Hendrie HC. Predictors of life satisfaction in retired physicians and spouses. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2003 Mar;38(3):134-41.

Sha MC, Callahan CM. The efficacy of pentoxifylline in the treatment of vascular dementia: a systematic review. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 2003;17(1):46-54.

Unverzagt F, Gao S, Lane K, Musick B, Hui S, Hall K, Hendrie H. Incidence of cognitive impairment no dementia: Data from the Indianapolis Study of Health and Aging. International Neuropsychological Society, Honolulu, HI. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2002;9:225.

Yamamoto K, Evans JD, Johnson KE, Unverzagt FW. Clinical utility of IU Token Test in the diagnosis of dementia. International Neuropsychological Society, Honolulu, HI. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2003;9:316.

Griss M, Evans JD, Fastenau PS, Unverzagt FW. CERAD performance in Alzheimer disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. International Neuropsychological Society, Honolulu, HI. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2003;9:316.

Rexroth DF, Gao S, Farlow MR, Unverzagt FW. Incremental validity of CERAD Constructional Praxis Recall in diagnosing Alzheimer disease. International Neuropsychological Society, Honolulu, HI. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2003;9:316.

PRESENTATIONS

Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, presented "Managing Agitation Related to Dementia: An Evidence-based Approach in Primary Care" in a February teleconference sponsored by Kaiser Permanente® Care Management Institute (CMI). The institute was created in 1997 for the purpose of helping the program's regions improve the quality of care and health outcomes for KP members. Drawing on the extensive clinical experience, research, and data of an integrated care health system, the CMI synthesizes knowledge about the best clinical approaches in order to create, implement, and evaluate effective and efficient care management programs.

Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, was chair of the workshop and presented "Translating Clinical Trial Results into Practice: How to Appraise Alzheimer's Disease Trials" March 3 at the 16th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry held in Honolulu, Hawaii. He also presented two posters, "The Role of Cholinesterase Inhibitors in Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Dementia" and "The Efficacy of Donepezil on Aggressive Agitation among Patients with Severe Dementia." AAGP’s mission is to enhance the knowledge base and standard of practice in geriatric psychiatry through education and research and to advocate for meeting the mental health needs of older Americans.

Colleen A. McHorney, PhD, presented "Ten Methodological Advances in Health Status Assessment for the 21st Century," one of five plenary papers at an invitation-only conference sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her presentation was to the Workshop To Develop a Research Agenda and Research Resources for Health Status Assessment and Summary Health Measures held in Alexandria, Virginia, March 26-28.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Glenda Westmoreland, MD, MPH has been elected to serve as a member of the Academic Standards Committee of the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Colleen A. McHorney, PhD, participated in an NIH National Eye Institute Study Section March 20 and on the AHRQ Health Care Quality and Effectiveness Research Study Section March 26-27.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please note a change in date, time and location for the April Clinical Rehabilitation Psychology program colloquium. John L. Woodard, PhD, will present "Functional Neuroanatomy of Working Memory in Alzheimer's Disease and Healthy Aging" on Friday, April 25, 12:15 - 1:15 pm. Dr. Woodard is Associate Professor of Psychology, Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School. The colloquium will be held in Business/SPEA Building, Room BS 2005, IUPUI.

The IU Geriatrics Conference on April 16 features Youcef Sennour, MD, Geriatric Medicine Fellow. He will present "Improving Hospital Care for Older Adults" in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.

Join us at the next Aging Research Work in Progress April 22, 8:00-9:00am when Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, will present "Dementia Prevalence in an Urban Primary Care Clinic." He will also discuss his R03 proposal on delirium prevention following hip fracture repair surgery. WIP meets at the VA in D6005.

The IU Geriatrics Conference on May 7 features Michael Wynn, PhD, Dept of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He will present "You Ain't Too Old to Dance to the Beat: The Aging Ear" in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.