This revised application requests continued funding of the 6-bed GCRC at the Francis Scott Key Medical Center for the period 7/1/93-11/30/97. This campus wide facility supports multiple NIH-funded inpatient/outpatient research programs of the Johns Hopkins faculty/Francis Scott Key Medical Center (FKSMC), as well as intramurally funded programs of the Gerontology Research Center (GRC), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the Addiction Research Center (ARC), the National Institute of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (NIDA). In a unique collaborative relationship with Johns Hopkins University, the NIA has provided major support to this GCRC. While primarily utilized by scientists on the Hopkins Bayview Campus, this GCRC also supports conjoint studies with investigators from the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland. Major expansions, currently underway, include those of the Johns Hopkins Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, the FSKMC, and the research facilities and staff of both the GRC and NIDA. Each of these organizations has a demonstrated commitment to the maintenance of an active, productive, and accessible GCRC. During the past 2 years, the number of NIH-funded projects has significantly increased. The research direction of this GCRC has broadened to support the expanding, diverse clinical research needs of the Bayview Campus. A major theme of endocrine research addresses the inter-relationships among aging, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I, sex hormones, and alterations in body composition (Endocrinology, Geriatrics). Other studies address the effects of physical activity, fitness and diet on cardiac function, and glucose and lipid metabolism in aging. The possible role of hyperinsulinemia in the hypertension is also under investigation (U. MD, Geriatrics). Investigators in the Pulmonary Division are studying factors influencing medication compliance in childhood asthma. Studies in the Division of Gastroenterology are investigating the psychophysiology of the irritable bowel syndrome. Psychopharmacological research involves: the effect of the opiate antagonist naltrexone in decreasing alcohol intoxication and preventing relapse during alcoholism treatment (Psychiatry), the role of dopamine antagonists in cocaine addiction (NIDA) and the pathophysiology of MDMA (""""""""Ecstasy"""""""") addiction (Neurology). Scientists at Johns Hopkins and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are using PET scans to study the effects of prolonged sleep deprivation (Radiology). Thus, the GCRC supports diverse research programs with a major emphasis on aging, psychopharmacology, and neurobiology.
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