Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)

San Antonio GRECC

• Geroscience approach to accelerate new findings in basic aging biology from the bench to the patient’s bedside
• Lifestyle interventions, including exercise, to improve physical and metabolic health in older adults
• Trials of age-modulating agents in older adults to improve physical function, frailty, biologic resilience, sarcopenic obesity, immune function, cardiovascular health and cognition
• Mechanistic trials of thermoregulatory sequelae of chronic spinal cord injury with emphasis on altered vasomotor control mechanisms
• Molecular mechanisms underlying the role of nutrient sensors in obesity and diabetes
• The metabolic aspects and molecular pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease and identifying novel therapeutic targets for its treatment
• Hepatokine regulation of nutrient metabolism, energy homeostasis and fatty liver disease related to aging

• Innovative health care models to ameliorate frailty and optimize quality of life
• Promotion of successful weight management in older adults with overweight/obesity and Type 2 diabetes
• Mechanism of microbiome-induced insulin resistance in humans
• Effects of mTOR inhibition and rapamycin on physical function, immune function, cardiovascular function, cognition, malignancy and COVID-19
• Functional role of mTOR in hepatic insulin resistance
• Pilot trial of topical rapamycin’s effects on keloid regression
• Efficacy and safety of rapamycin in early Alzheimer’s disease
• FGF21 as a novel modulator of metabolism in age-related metabolic disease
• Role of SIRT1 and AMP-activated protein kinase in liver aging and age-related Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and metabolic disease
• Role of TLR4 on insulin resistance in humans
• Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE and ASPREE-XT)
• Clinical trial of metformin for frailty prevention in older adults with insulin resistance
• Pragmatic Evaluation of Events and Benefits of Lipid-Lowering in Older Adults (PREVENTABLE)
• Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS)
• Cellular resilience as a predictor of healthy aging
• South Texas Aging Registry and Repository
• The effects of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) on brain function and cognition
• The physiologic effects of intranasal oxytocin on sarcopenic obesity
• Clinical trials of senolytic agents for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cognitive impairment/dementia and COVID-19
• Metformin to improve vaccine response and prolong healthspan in older adults

• Interprofessional training focused on the 5Ms of geriatrics and palliative care in academic and clinical settings
• Development of our future leaders in medical education and aging research
• Dissemination of existing knowledge and new developments in the fields of aging and palliative care to local and national trainees
• Serve as a local and national resource for interprofessional staff development in the areas of aging and palliative care
• Dementia caregiver support and education program

• Gerofit - supervised exercise and health program designed for older Veterans enrolled at VA
• Former Prisoner of War Clinic - implementing innovative telemedicine-based assessment of FPOWs by an interdisciplinary team to identify previously unrecognized FPOW presumptive service-connected and other disabilities
• Geriatrics Medicine Education at Discharge (GMED) - transitional care program for vulnerable older Veterans to reduce 30 -day readmissions and reduce polypharmacy
• Virtual Geriatrics - consultation for frail Veterans, focusing on rural Veterans, to increase access to care via telehealth modalities
• Life sustaining treatment decisions Initiative
• Implementation of patient priorities care in geriatrics services, which helps patients and providers focus decision making and health care on what matters most to patients

• Tau protein aggregation is associated with cellular senescence in the brain Aging Cell https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30126037/
• Long-term treatment with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin has minor effect on clinical laboratory markers in middle-aged marmosets Am J Primatol https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30311681/
• Rapamycin and Alzheimer's disease: Time for a clinical trial? Sci Transl Med https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30674654/
• Review of Interventions for the Frailty Syndrome and the Role of Metformin as a Potential Pharmacologic Agent for Frailty Prevention Clin Ther https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30851950/
• NFκB Regulates Muscle Development and Mitochondrial Function J Gerentol A Biol Sci Med Sci https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30423026/

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