Dr. Anne Cappola, who trained in Endocrinology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, recently completed an Sc.M. in Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health. In April, 2001, Dr. Cappola joined the faculty at the University of Maryland as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology. She has strong mentor ship from Dr. Alan Shuldiner, an endocrinologist with expertise in aging, and Dr. Linda Fried, a geriatrician and epidemiologist renowned for her work on frailty. They will provide her with extensive resources and a stimulating interdisciplinary environment to launch her independent academic career. Sarcopenia, the involuntary loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is a potentially modifiable condition that contributes to frailty, functional dependence, and falls in older individuals. The role of the endocrine system in the development of sarcopenia is poorly understood. The central goal of this proposal is to define the role of androgens and myostatin in sarcopenia in older women through examination of epidemiologic and molecular data.
In Specific Aim 1, Dr. Cappola proposes to characterize the distribution of ovarian and adrenal androgens and myostatin in a random sample of women over the age of 65 using banked blood from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS).
In Specific Aim 2, she will perform analyses to determine whether lower or declining levels of androgens and/or higher or increasing levels of myostatin are independently associated with sarcopenia in CHS and in a cohort of women with relatively high function, the Women?s Health and Aging Study II.
In Specific Aim 3, she will perform a pilot study of low-dose testosterone in androgen-deficient older women to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this intervention and to delineate the molecular mechanisms whereby androgens mediate changes in muscle using functional genomics approaches. Dr. Cappola?s interdisciplinary training, strong mentor ship, carefully designed career development program, supportive environment, and novel research plan will give her the experience and tools she needs to develop into a highly successful, independent clinical investigator.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
5K23AG019161-03
Application #
6661885
Study Section
National Institute on Aging Initial Review Group (NIA)
Program Officer
Yancik, Rosemary
Project Start
2002-09-30
Project End
2007-08-31
Budget Start
2004-09-01
Budget End
2005-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$128,250
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
042250712
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104
Reider, L; Hawkes, W; Hebel, J R et al. (2013) The association between body mass index, weight loss and physical function in the year following a hip fracture. J Nutr Health Aging 17:91-5
Hicks, Gregory E; Shardell, Michelle; Alley, Dawn E et al. (2012) Absolute strength and loss of strength as predictors of mobility decline in older adults: the InCHIANTI study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 67:66-73
Cappola, A R; Hawkes, W G; Blocher, N et al. (2011) The hormonal profile of hip fracture female patients differs from community-dwelling peers over a 1-year follow-up period. Osteoporos Int 22:339-44
Rariy, Chevon M; Ratcliffe, Sarah J; Weinstein, Rachel et al. (2011) Higher serum free testosterone concentration in older women is associated with greater bone mineral density, lean body mass, and total fat mass: the cardiovascular health study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 96:989-96
Shardell, Michelle D; Alley, Dawn E; Hicks, Gregory E et al. (2011) Low-serum carotenoid concentrations and carotenoid interactions predict mortality in US adults: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Nutr Res 31:178-89
Patel, Shrita M; Iqbal, Nayyar; Kaul, Shailja et al. (2010) Effects of metformin and leuprolide acetate on insulin resistance and testosterone levels in nondiabetic postmenopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Fertil Steril 94:2161-6
Shardell, Michelle; Hicks, Gregory E; Miller, Ram R et al. (2009) Association of low vitamin D levels with the frailty syndrome in men and women. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 64:69-75
Somwaru, Lily L; Arnold, Alice M; Joshi, Neha et al. (2009) High frequency of and factors associated with thyroid hormone over-replacement and under-replacement in men and women aged 65 and over. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94:1342-5
Patel, Shrita M; Ratcliffe, Sarah J; Reilly, Muredach P et al. (2009) Higher serum testosterone concentration in older women is associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94:4776-84
Cappola, Anne R; Xue, Qian-Li; Fried, Linda P (2009) Multiple hormonal deficiencies in anabolic hormones are found in frail older women: the Women's Health and Aging studies. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 64:243-8

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