CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH METHODS CORE

University Of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The mission of RC-1 is to design, implement, and evaluate clinical and translational research in exercise[unreadable] rehabilitation and recovery in older patients with stroke, hip fracture, and other medical conditions associated[unreadable] with functional limitations in aging. Reorganization of UM-OAIC from a project to a Core based Center led to[unreadable] the proposed core, which provides access and leadership to Pepper and other university resources to[unreadable] conduct translational rehabilitation research in functionally limited older people. Two levels of translation:[unreadable] bench to clinical laboratory; and clinical laboratory to community, are facilitated. Core directors were chosen[unreadable] for their leadership in common and costly disabling conditions in older people, stroke and hip fracture. Our[unreadable] stroke rehabilitation program investigated physiological and functional efficacy of motor learning-based[unreadable] exercise rehabilitation interventions via relatively small intervention development studies in the UM-OAIC[unreadable] that included examination of biological mechanisms underlying functional impairment. The Baltimore Hip[unreadable] Studies (BHS) have been ongoing for >20 years and emphasized larger epidemiological studies. In these[unreadable] investigations, we have examined physiological and functional sequelae of hip fracture in community[unreadable] settings, and exercise interventions implemented in the home. The intention for the proposed UM-OAIC is to[unreadable] apply constructive methods and knowledge from each disabling condition, to the other condition so that[unreadable] stroke research can be taken into community settings, and hip fracture research can be pursued in the[unreadable] clinical and basic science laboratories, including a focus on exercise-mediated biological adaptations.[unreadable] Increasing collaborations represented by dual core leadership provide a translational research model that[unreadable] focuses on the following aims: 1)To facilitate design and conduct of research mechanisms underlying[unreadable] functional limitations associated with stroke, hip fracture and other chronic diseases in older people to[unreadable] determine the disability phenotype across a spectrum of neuromuscular, cardiovascular, functional and[unreadable] behavioral domains. 2)To facilitate evaluation of the multi-faceted processes by which older persons who[unreadable] develop disabling medical diseases such as stroke or hip fracture decline functionally, and either recover[unreadable] with rehabilitation or develop comorbid medical conditions that worsen their prognosis. 3)To facilitate[unreadable] development and implementation of disease and disability specific exercise and motor learning interventions,[unreadable] including application of new technologies, adherence strategies and treatment fidelity to optimize clinical and[unreadable] functional outcomes.4)To utilize infrastructure of the Pepper to facilitate testing of exercise interventions at[unreadable] the community level, and help investigators study the factors that could impede or facilitate the broader[unreadable] dissemination of health and function promoting exercise interventions for aging populations with functional[unreadable] limitations.