A newly refined method for measuring the Pace of Aging in population-based studies provides a powerful tool for predicting risks associated with aging, including chronic illness, cognitive impairment, disability, and mortality. Developed by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the method offers researchers and policy makers a novel approach to quantify how quickly individuals and populations experience age-related health decline.

Lead author Camilo Faust Akl and senior author Francisco Quintana, PhD, both of the Ann Romney Center of Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, published a paper in Nature, “Glioblastoma-instructed astrocytes suppress tumor-1 specific T-cell immunity

Rémy Furrer, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow and Amanda Merner, PhD, an instructor and research scientist in the Brain Bioethics Lab in the Department of Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital are the lead authors of a paper published in Device, “Public perceptions of neurotechnologies used to target mood, memory, and motor symptoms.” Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz, PhD, JD, associate professor in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Psychiatry at MGH, is senior author.

Some patients with a rare form of ALS benefited from an experimental therapy, with biomarker evidence of reduced injury to neurons and even limited functional recovery.