December 2007

In This Issue

UniHealth Partners with ILC-USA

Ageism Blog Launched

Do you care? Join Our Effort.

Federal Employees Help Support ILC

Recent Publications

ILC-USA Step Counter

The ILC Step Counter, a beeper-sized pedometer, is the easiest way to keep track of every step you take. The ILC Step Counter is the perfect motivational tool to help you increase your daily activity. Visit the ILC-Shop to purchase yours today!

NEW! ILC Update E-Newsletter

Welcome to the ILC Update eNewsletter, a new monthly update on the latest news, publications, and events from the International Longevity Center-USA. Thank you for your interest in the ILC-USA and your continued support of our work, as we navigate the age boom.

Global Partners Focus on Human Rights;
ILC-Israel Added to Alliance

'Human Rights in An Aging World' was the theme of an international conference held during the annual gathering of the ILC sister centers. Nine countries were represented in London, England in October, as the directors met to discuss the implications of longevity and demographic change on human rights policy in different societies and cultures.

During the meeting, the global alliance welcomed ILC-Israel as the tenth member of the international partnership. Led by Dr. Sara Carmel, the ILC-Israel will be housed within Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) at The Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging. The Center was established in 2000 with the goal of fostering a synergistic environment for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education in Geriatrics and Gerontology.

Butler Honored at 25th Anniversary of Mt. Sinai Geriatrics Department

Mount Sinai celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics by paying tribute to their founding Chairman, Dr. Robert N. Butler, president and CEO of the ILC-USA at a special symposium in November. Leading experts including Dr. Richard Hodes, Director of the NIA, Dr. Jack Rowe, professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Dr. Butler addressed the audience on the "Paradox of Longevity". The event concluded with a birthday dinner honoring Dr. Butler's 80th birthday at the Lotos Club in Manhattan.

Top Journalists Attend 2007 Age Boom Academy

Reporters from Marketwatch, Chicago Tribune, BusinessWeek, and the Associated Press were among twelve journalists to attend the 8th annual Age Boom Academy in September. Focusing on "Science in Society" the Academy featured leading experts including Dr. Nir Barzilai, Director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Dr. Lenny Guarente, Novartis Professor of Biology at MIT; Dr. Steve Nissen, Chair of the Cleveland Clinic Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Dr. Richard Suzman, Director of Behavioral and Social Research at the NIA.

Special invited guests attending, included acclaimed actress and author Jane Fonda (pictured above with journalist Anita Weier from The Capital Times), ABC News producer Rob Wallace, and AARP Communications Manager, Chris Lisi and Long-Term Care Project Manager, Kieun Oh.

Stanford Center on Longevity co-presented the event with ILC-USA. The New York Times Company Foundation sponsored the event for the eight year, with additional support from The Ellison Medical Foundation.

The 9th Age Boom Academy is already scheduled for June, 2008 and will focus on the "Politics of Aging and Longevity". Presenters will be announced in early 2008 and applications for journalists will be accepted beginning in February. You can learn more about the Age Boom Academy on our Web site.

Sleep & Older Adults: Experts Meet to Develop Clinical Guidelines

The National Coalition for Sleep Disorders in Older Persons (S-DOP), a partnership between the ILC-USA and thirteen prominent sleep and aging organizations, continues to work toward the generation of evidence based guidelines for use by primary care physicians in recognizing and diagnosing vital sleep disorder signs. A meeting of twenty distinguished experts in medicine, psychiatry, and pharmacology, will be hosted in New York, by the ILC-USA in early December.

Presentations will cover: insomnia by Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel, professor of psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine; hypersomnias by Dr. Michael Thorpy, Director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Clinic, Montefiore Medical Center; parasomnias and circadian rhythm sleep disorders by Dr. Phyllis Zee, professor of neurology and neurobiology & physiology and Director of the Sleep Disorders Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School; sleep apnea by Dr. Meir Kryger, Director of Sleep Medicine Research and Education, Gaylord Hospital; sleep issues in long term care settings by Dr. Cathy Alessi, associate professor of geriatric medicine and associate director of Clinical Programs GRECC VA Greater Los Angeles Health System / University of California at Los Angeles; and restless legs syndrome written by Dr. Barbara Phillips, professor of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

UniHealth Foundation Partners with The Caregiving Project for Older Americans

Who are the professional, in-home caregivers of older Americans and how are they trained? Those are the two questions a new ILC-USA initiative will tackle through a generous grant from the UniHealth Foundation. The foundation, based in Los Angeles, has joined a growing number of foundations supporting The Caregiving Project for Older Americans.

The initiative will gather a task force of leading caregiving training experts, conduct an environmental scan of the caregiving curricula and training programs through the country, and hold a consensus conference in Southern California in May 2008.

ILC-USA Experts Headline Annual GSA Conference in San Francisco

Top scholars from the ILC-USA highlighted the Gerontological Society of America's 60th Annual Scientific Meeting "The Era of Global Aging: Challenges and Opportunities" in late November.

ILC-CEO Dr. Robert N. Butler delivered the keynote speech entitled "The Seven Continents: Preparing for Longevity and the Triumph of Survival." Dr. Butler spoke of the urgent need for governments, business, and civil society to quickly prepare for today's historic demographic shift toward increasingly long lives. His full speech can be downloaded from the ILC Web site.

ILC-USA experts Dr. Harrison Bloom and Dr. Michael Gusmano also represented the ILC-USA in several discipline-specific symposia, including one calling for the regular and systematic assessment of sleep as a vital sign in general geriatric health care practice, and an overview of international projects and partnerships advocating for the development of health policies that promote healthy aging and the training of health personnel to care for a rapidly aging world.

Ageism In America Blog Launched

The Ageism In America blog is the latest addition to the new ILC-USA redesigned Web site. The blog tracks the latest news and research on age discrimination in the United States. By adding their own comments, visitors to the site join ILC-USA staff and guest experts in an ongoing conversation, pushing age discrimination practices into the public discourse. Recent experts include Dr. John Krout from Gerontology Institute at Ithaca College and Dr. Erdman Palmore, editor of The Encyclopedia of Ageism.

Do you care about aging issues? Join Our Effort.

Only about 2% of all foundation giving is directed to concerns involving seniors, the elderly and aging. This is simply not enough. Substantial investments need to be made to address the growing issues brought about by today's exceptional increase in longevity.

The support we receive to carry out our mission - to advance healthy aging, combat ageism, and promote productive longevity - will be used to continue to grow the following core programs in pursuit of solutions to problems such as caregiving shortages, elder abuse, and lowered standards of living.

Please join us in preparing our communities for not only a longer life, but also a better quality of life for all Americans. We can only do this work with the support of friends like you. Please visit www.ilcusa.org/donate and make a contribution. Alternatively, you may mail your donation directly to our office.

At the ILC-USA, $.86 of every dollar goes directly to our programs on aging. To achieve our goals we must demonstrate our continuing commitment to advancing the best possible lives for all who would grow old. We hope you will join us in this effort.

Federal Employees Help Support ILC-USA

ILC-USA has officially been selected to join the Combined Federal Campaign--the largest national workplace giving campaign for federal government employees and members of the U.S. military. Federal employees can now help support our efforts by making a gift to the ILC-USA through the campaign. If you are interested submitting a donation, enter CFC Code #12354 on your pledge card during the next fund drive. For more information about our involvement in the campaign visit the Get Involved section of our website.

Recent Publications

All publications are available through the ILC-USA website. Visit the publications section of our website to download an electronic version or purchase a hard copy.

Intimations of Immortality: The Ethics and Justice of Life-Extending Therapies

We are all programmed to age and die, but maybe it doesn't have to be that way. Based on his 2002 Harold Hatch International Longevity Lecture, Dr. John Harris discusses the possibility of immortality. From all over the world, research is being reported, which, if it comes to fruition, would not only constitute major contributions to the treatment of disease but could in principle lead to the indefinite extension of life, to the extent perhaps that we would begin to think of people who had received such life- extending treatment as immortals.

Health, Science & Wealth

Two Nobel Prize winners, ILC Board members Dr. Robert Fogel, Nobel Laureate 1993 in Economic Sciences and Dr. Stanley Prusiner, Nobel Laureate 1997 in Physiology or Medicine, discuss longevity's impact on neurodegenerative diseases, drug development, and health care as a driver of economic growth in the years ahead.

Myths of the High Medical Costs of Old Age and Dying

The rising costs of medical care in the United States are often erroneously linked to the growing population of older adults. Despite public perception, health care costs associated with aging are limited. Part of the ILC-USA's project on Ageism In America with generous support from the Open Society Institute, this report identifies and dispels seven myths about caring for older people at the end of life.