Eligibility Details:
Inclusion Criteria for Older Adults:
- Community dwelling men and women 70+ years old
- Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) <10
- Able to complete the 400 m walk test within 15 minutes without sitting or the help of
another person and without a walker, a cane is allowed
- Willingness to undergo all testing procedures
- English speaking
- Willingness to be enrolled for 1.25 to 3.5 years, depending on enrollment date.
Inclusion Criteria for Young Adults:
- Healthy men and women aged 20-40 years old
- Willingness to undergo all testing procedures
- English speaking
Exclusion Criteria for all participants:
- Significant medical event requiring hospitalization in the past 6 months that has the
potential to contaminate data being collected (fracture, hospitalization etc.);
- Severe visual impairment or corrected visual acuity less than 20/40, which would
preclude completion of the assessments;
- Not meeting MRI eligibility (e.g. metal implants, pacemaker, etc.)
- Clinically diagnosed vestibular dysfunction;
- Unwilling or unable to do an over-ground version of the uneven terrain task without
assistive device;
- Develops chest pain or severe shortness of breath during physical stress;
- History of stroke;
- Any history of clinically diagnosed traumatic brain injury;
- Diagnosis of dementia or taking cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne,
Namenda, or Namzaric);
- Significant cognitive impairment defined as a score of 17 on the modified Telephone
Inventory for Cognitive Status (TICS-M).
- Any major ADL disability (unable to feed, dress, bath, use the toilet, or transfer);
- Report of lower extremity pain due to osteoarthritis that significantly limits
mobility;
- Diagnosis or treatment for rheumatoid arthritis;
- Lives in a nursing home; persons living in assisted or independent housing will not be
excluded;
- Receiving physical therapy for gait, balance, or other lower extremity training;
- Known neuromuscular disorder or overt neurological disease (e.g. Multiple Sclerosis,
Rhabdomyolysis, Myasthenia Gravis, Ataxia, Apraxia, post-polio syndrome, mitochondrial
myopathy, Parkinson's Disease, ALS etc.)
- Unable to communicate because of severe hearing loss or speech disorder;
- Planned surgical procedure or hospitalization in the next 12 months (e.g., joint
replacement, CABG);
- Severe pulmonary disease, requiring the use of supplemental oxygen;
- Terminal illness, as determined by a physician;
- Severe cardiac disease, including NYHA Class III or IV congestive heart failure,
clinically significant aortic stenosis, recent history of cardiac arrest, use of a
cardiac defibrillator, or uncontrolled angina;
- Is planning to move out of the area in next year or leave the area for >6 mos during
follow-up;
- Other significant conditions that would impact safety and/or compliance to the
protocol (e.g. renal failure on hemodialysis, psychiatric disorder—bipolar,
schizophrenia, excessive alcohol intake etc.);
- Use of walker or wheel chair;
- Artificial hair covering the scalp such as a wig or toupee
- Failure to provide informed consent;
- Transaminases >twice upper limit of normal;
- Hemoglobin <10 g/dL;
- Investigator discretion based on safety or compliance concerns
common.study.methods.has-drugs-no
common.study.methods.is-healthy-no
