The Invisible Aging Woman
Compared with men, women are more adversely affected by medical conditions associated with aging and suffer more frequent negative effects from their treatment. However, the vast majority of basic biomedical research on aging does not take the unique differences of female aging into account, as highlighted in a new perspective piece in Nature Aging by senior author Dr. Fabrisia Ambrosio, PhD, (pictured), Atlantic Charter Director of Spaulding’s Discovery Center on Musculoskeletal Recovery. For example, while more than 75 percent of the top age-related diseases are influenced by the systemic effects of menopause, Dr. Ambrosio and her colleagues found that preclinical studies that consider this phase of life make up less than one percent of published aging biology research. The long-term consequences of pregnancy, birthing, and breastfeeding are similarly excluded. The result is a healthcare system that lacks critical data on how to effectively treat age-related diseases in female patients emphasize the authors, who also include Gabrielle Gilmer, Zachary Hettinger, PhD, and Julie Silver, MD, from Spaulding. In the paper, they provide recommendations and action items for the scientific community to begin addressing this gap. Check out this Harvard Medical School Q&A with Dr. Ambrosio, where she discusses the role of menopause in aging and the need for better models of female-specific traits in research to ultimately improve patient care.
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Spotlight Profile:
Hirotaka Iijima, PhD, PT
A researcher in the Ambrosio Lab, Dr. Iijima is working to develop rehabilitation strategies for musculoskeletal diseases from multiple angles. His recently published study on fat accumulation in skeletal muscle has implications for counteracting muscle wasting as we age. Click here to learn more about his work and his path to Spaulding.
“Spaulding, where I am relatively new, immediately stood out as an ideal platform for integrating basic and clinical research. The community and potential for breakthrough discoveries at Spaulding are second to none, offering a scientifically rich environment that enables both translational and reverse translational approaches.”—Dr. Hirotaka Iijima
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Heading Off Inequities in Pediatric Brain Injury Care
In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the first formal “guideline” for the management of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) among children, marking extraordinary advances in knowledge about the outcomes and management of this particular patient population over the past several decades. However, when examining the bulk of the evidence underlying the guideline, a team of researchers led by Spaulding’s Nathan Cook, PhD, and Grant Iverson, PhD, recently determined that very few of these foundational studies addressed social determinants of health (SDoH) or health equity variables. Their report appears in the Journal of Neurotrauma.
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SDoH—the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age—and health equity variables—such as race, ethnicity, and language—can influence a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. For example, the quality and effectiveness of clinical care can be adversely affected if a family doesn’t have access to a rehabilitation facility based on geography or socioeconomic status; can’t benefit from educational materials due to literacy or language barriers; or doesn’t feel comfortable communicating with medical staff or school personnel about accommodations based on experience or culture. The authors stress that these kinds of factors need to be more systematically incorporated into future mild TBI studies and subsequent versions of the CDC guideline to ensure the most effective and equitable care. Learn more about their conclusions in Spaulding’s news summary.
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Addressing Ableism in Cancer Care
As a person with a spinal cord injury, Cheri Blauwet, MD, sports medicine physician and chief medical officer at Spaulding Rehabilitation, has used her personal experience and medical expertise to advocate for greater health equity for people with disabilities. Dr. Blauwet and two other healthcare leaders recently published a commentary in The Lancet Oncology regarding the prevalence of ableism—discrimination towards individuals with disabilities—in cancer care. They note that a lack of clarity regarding the management of patients with disabilities spans the continuum of cancer care, from prevention and screening to treatment and survivorship. At all of these steps, there is a high risk for bias and false assumptions about these patients’ capabilities and function that can, in turn, impact their clinical outcomes. Learn more about this important issue in this in-depth coverage from STAT and this Q&A with Dr. Blauwet in Cure.
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Spotlight Sidebar:
Congratulations to Cheri Blauwet, MD, on her appointment as new BAA chair!
In November, Dr. Cheri Blauwet was elected the new chair of the Board of Governors of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA), one of the nation’s oldest athletics clubs and founder of the Boston Marathon. A two-time Boston Marathon champion and a seven-time Paralympic medalist, Dr. Blauwet has combined the many facets of her personal and professional life to become a change agent in promoting disability rights and health equity though sports and physical activity. See the BAA’s announcement for more.
“I am proud to take on this leadership role at the BAA to expand upon our ongoing work to host the world's greatest marathon, while also emphasizing the power of sport to promote health.”—Dr. Cheri Blauwet
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Sharing SCI Science
On January 26, Spaulding Rehabilitation and Harvard Medical School (HMS) presented the ninth annual joint Gordon Research Symposium at Spaulding’s flagship hospital in Charlestown. This collaborative event showcases researchers from both Spaulding and HMS who have received support from the cross-institutional Ellen R. and Melvin J. Gordon Center for the Cure and Treatment of Paralysis and gives them the opportunity to present on the progress of their work throughout the course of the past year.
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This year, Spaulding was represented by J. Andrew Taylor, PhD, (pictured) director of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, and Mario Mino Murakami, Jr., DM, (pictured) a postdoctoral fellow in the Linnman Lab. Dr. Taylor talked about his team’s work to better understand the relationship between the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and their ongoing studies to explore the potential of ujjayi, a type of yogic breathing, to improve the health of patients with spinal cord injury. Dr. Murakami spoke about his research using state-of-the-art MRI technologies to enhance the way we map the functional and structural connections of the brain, which may in turn enable the development of more refined therapies for paralysis.
Spaulding’s President Ross Zafonte, D.O., HMS Dean George Daley, M.D., Ph.D., and HMS Alice and Rodman W. Moorhead III Professor of Neurobiology Bernardo Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D., acted as moderators for the program. Tootsie Roll Industries’ Chair and CEO Ellen R. Gordon—whose family’s generosity made the Gordon Center and this yearly event possible—also gave remarks.
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Para Athletic Performance
Spaulding’s Kelley Adaptive Sports Research Institute (KASRI) recently received a “Bridge funding for future clinical trial grant” from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine for the multi-institutional study entitled “Feasibility of a Comprehensive Wellness Intervention to Promote Mindfulness, Resilience, and Quality of Life in Para Athletes.” Mary Dubon, MD, the associate director of KASRI, will serve as co–principal investigator
on the project.
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Award-Winning Commitment
Spaulding’s President Ross Zafonte, DO, received the 2023 Admiral Charles LeMoyne Distinguished Healthcare Professional Award from the Ben Franklin Global Forum in December. Dr. Zafonte was recognized for his groundbreaking research in understanding the mechanisms of recovery after brain and spinal cord injury and for his commitment as a founding faculty member at Home Base, a national nonprofit for Veteran care, where he spearheaded the development of a brain injury and trauma program for the members of the Special Operations community.
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An Up-Skill
CLIMB
As part of the Boston-Harvard Burn Injury Model System, Spaulding is conducting a randomized controlled trial called CLIMB (Chronic Conditions Life Impact Management in Burns). The project will examine how the development of life skills—like decision-making and action-planning—affects the recovery and long-term outcomes of people living with burn injury. The study is still recruiting participants; click here for more information and to register.
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Spotlight on Spaulding Science is a quarterly e-newsletter for donors and friends of the Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding Rehabilitation. For questions or to submit your own research news item, please contact: Alexandra Molloy at [email protected].
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If you do not wish to receive certain or all fundraising communications from the Spaulding Rehabilitation Development Office, please email us; write us; call us at 617-952-6880; or visit giving.spauldingnetwork.org/optout.
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