The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study is a prospective longitudinal epidemiological study conducted in four communities: Forsyth County (North Carolina), Jackson (Mississippi), Minneapolis (Minnesota), and Washington County (Maryland). ARIC is designed to investigate the causes of atherosclerosis and its clinical outcomes, and variations in cardiovascular risk factors, medical care,...

The National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) is a series of surveys of a nationally representative sample of home health and hospice agencies in the United States. It provides descriptive information on home health and hospice agencies, their staff, their services, and their patients. Information collected on agencies includes the year an agency was established, the types of services provided,...

To investigate the GABAergic and glutamatergic systems and neural specificity in the visual cortex of glaucoma patients, the research team recruited 40 patients with glaucoma (14 with early glaucoma and 16 with advanced glaucoma) and 24 age-matched healthy subjects to undergo clinical ophthalmic exams and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with fixation tasks. Researchers obtained the following data: Structural...

Glutathione (GSH) and its precursor, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), are common thiol antioxidants, which are among the most popular dietary supplements. However, the long-term effects of GSH or NAC on healthy animals have not been properly studied. This study examined the effects of prolonged supplementation and chronic restriction of GSH and NAC on Caenorhabditis elegans physiology and lifespan. For RNA...

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is an annual cohort survey of a nationally representative sample of United States older adults sampled via the Medicare enrollment file. NHATS aims to study the disablement process and its consequences; it is led by the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, with data collection...

Aging is the strongest risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), with older women facing a greater risk of CVDs than age-matched men. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) dysfunction and impaired calcium (Ca2+) handling are recognized as central contributors to arterial stiffening and calcification. However, the molecular and functional determinants of Ca2+ clearance that drive vascular aging...