Cardiovascular diseases remain the greatest threat to health in the US, and their heaviest impact is on the aging population. The development of new treatments tailored for the older heart will be important for meeting the medical needs of the rapidly growing aging population.

The links between age and heart disease are complex, involving more than the passage of time. Research on the biology of aging coupled with a new appreciation of the age-associated changes in cardiac physiology have provided important insights into the aging heart's increased susceptibility to disease. Understanding the interactive roles of aging in cardiovascular diseases is critical in laying the foundation for the discovery and development of new cardiac treatment and prevention strategies.

This one-day conference will explore fundamental aspects of aging and cardiovascular diseases as well as therapies currently being developed for the aging heart. Leading investigators will address the physiologic, cell and molecular biology and genetic changes that increase the impact of cardiovascular diseases in the older population. Topics will include the role of gender, cardiac myocyte energy utilization and vascular dysfunction as well as environmental influences on the aging heart. The conference will also include a session with experts in translational medicine describing clinical strategies currently being developed to address the specific needs of the aging heart, including biological therapies such as stem cell technologies.

Organizers

Jay M. Edelberg, MD, PhD
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Roger Hajjar, MD
Mount Sinai School of Medicine

George M. Martin, MD
University of Washington School of Medicine

Roger McCarter, PhD
Pennsylvania State University

Jean-Luc Vanderheyden, PhD
GE Healthcare

Terrie Fox Wetle, PhD
Brown University

8:30 am
Welcome and Introduction
Jay M. Edelberg, MD, PhD, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
American Federation for Aging Research Board Member

8:45 - 9:30 am
Keynote: State of the Heart Address
Systematic Study of Cardiovascular Aging is a Daunting Ordeal
Edward G. Lakatta, MD, National Institute on Aging

9:30 am - noon
The Science Behind the Disease: Why is this happening?

Congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease remain the greatest threat to health in the US, and their heaviest impact is on the aging population. In addition, heart failure with preserved systolic function becomes more common at older ages and is also more common in women. This session will highlight these important topics that affect the majority of elderly patients.

Moderated by Terrie Fox Wetle, PhD, Brown University and President, American Federation for Aging Research

Of Mice and Men: What Mice Can Tell Us About Cardiac Aging in Humans
Peter S. Rabinovitch, MD, PhD, University of Washington

Young at Heart: A Fly's Perspective
Rolf Bodmer, PhD, Burnham Institute for Medical Research

The Nancy Renick Memorial Lecture
Age-associated CHF in the Woman: Is her Strength her Weakness?
Jeanne Wei, MD, PhD, University of Arkansas

Age as a Risk Factor of Athero-thrombotic Disease
Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

11:45 am
Acknowledgment of Winners of the AFAR-GE Healthcare Junior Investigator Award for Excellence in Aging - Heart Research

Noon - 1:00 pm
Luncheon Break

1:30 - 3:00 pm
Session II: Translational Science: What is Science Doing to Help?

Future therapies for cardiovascular diseases will be composed of efforts to "regenerate" the myocardium. Recent advances in understanding of the molecular basis of myocardial dysfunction, together with the evolution of increasingly efficient gene transfer technology, has placed treatment of aging related cardiovascular diseases within reach of gene and regenerative based therapies. Since the regenerative capacity of aging cardiomyocytes and vascular cells is decreased, these novel treatments will need to be adapted to the aging heart. This session will focus on the basic mechanisms of aging related to cardiac dysfunction and the new strategies used to reverse these abnormalities.

Aging, Insulin Resistance and the Progression of Heart Failure
Richard Shannon, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure
Roger Hajjar, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Making More Blood Vessels - Large and Small
Laura Niklason, MD, PhD, Yale School of Medicine

Industry Speaker
Imaging Sympathetic Innervation in Heart Failure
Arnold Jacobson, MD, PhD, GE Healthcare

3 pm - 3:20 pm
Break

3:20 pm - 4:30 pm
Session III: Emerging Science: What Will Help My Children and Grandchildren?

Advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of aging related cardiac dysfunction and the evolution of increasingly efficient peptide and stem cell transfer technology have placed many age related cardiovascular diseases within reach of cell based therapies. This session will highlight the tremendous advances in these novel fields.

Peptide-Based Therapies for the Aging Heart
Hazel Szeto, MD, PhD, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Cardiac Progenitor Cells as a Target of Pharmacological Intervention in an Aging Heart
Sean Wu, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

4:30 pm
Concluding Remarks
Jay M. Edelberg, MD, PhD, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
American Federation for Aging Research Board Member

Sponsors to Date

Anonymous
The Ellison Medical Foundation
GE Healthcare
The Nancy Renick Memorial Fund
sanofi-aventis

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Conference Registration

There is no charge for this event but space is limited and registration is required. Please register early!

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AFAR is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support biomedical research on aging. It is devoted to creating the knowledge that all of us need to live healthy, productive, and independent lives. Since 1981, AFAR has awarded approximately $120 million to more than 2,600 talented scientists as part of its broad-based series of grant programs. Its work has led to significant advances in our understanding of aging processes, age-related diseases, and healthy aging practices. AFAR communicates news of these innovations through its organizational web site www.afar.org and educational web sites Infoaging (www.infoaging.org) and Health Compass (www.healthcompass.org).

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