Relationship Between Physical Activity and Stem Cells in Older Adults

This is a pilot study to develop a collaborative, translational research project investigating whether physical activity may in part exert a positive influence on aging via the mobilization of stem cells. Preliminary data will be collected to explore the relationship between physical activity and stem cell populations found in the blood. The study hypothesis is that stem cell decrease with age, but that persons who are more physically active will have a higher number of stem cells in the blood. The first assessment will include an evaluation of health, physical activity and lifestyle via questionnaires. Height, weight and abdominal girth will be measured, and blood will be drawn for immune and stem cell assessment. Participants will be given a pedometer and accelerometer to wear daily for 7 days. Participants will return for a second visit at which the pedometer and accelerometer will be returned and blood will be drawn. Stem cell and immune assays will be repeated to evaluate the variability of these measures over time. The correlation between stem cell numbers and physical activity will be analyzed.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Aging

Detailed Description

Increased numbers of circulating stem cells and physical activity are both associated with improved health in older persons. This pilot study is the initial step in developing a collaborative, translational research project investigating whether physical activity may in part exert a positive influence on aging via the mobilization of stem cells. The specific aim of this pilot project is to collect preliminary data to explore the relationship between physical activity and stem cell populations found in the blood and to determine the variance in the number of circulating stem cells. We hypothesize that stem cell decrease with age, but that persons who are more physically active will have a higher number of stem cells in the blood. A maximum of 40 persons will be recruited to participate. Persons are eligible to participate if they are age 60 or older, haven't been hospitalized recently, do not have an immunologic or blood disease, do not have an infection, and are not undergoing chemotherapy. Subjects will have 2 visits to the UNMC Clinical Research Center (CRC). The first assessment will include an evaluation of health, physical activity and lifestyle via questionnaires. Height, weight and abdominal girth will be measured, and blood will be drawn for immune and stem cell assessment. Subjects will be given a pedometer and accelerometer to wear daily for 7 days. Subjects will return to the CRC for a second visit at which the pedometer and accelerometer will be returned and blood will be drawn. Stem cell and immune assays will be repeated to evaluate the variability of these measures over time. The correlation between stem cell numbers and physical activity will be analyzed. The data will be used to perform sample size calculations for the development of future studies.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 39

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Nebraska
    • Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68198
      • University Of Nebraska Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 60 years to 105 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community Sample of Omaha, NE metro area

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 60 years of age or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• Hospitalization within 2 months prior
• Immunological disease
• Hematopoietic disease
• No current infection
• No current chemotherapy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
circulating stem cells	Number of circulating stem cells determined by lab	upon enrollment, one week later
physical activity	physical activity as reported	upon enrollment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
alcohol consumption	alcohol consumption as reported	upon enrollment
smoking history	smoking history as reported	upon enrollment
plasma cytokine levels	plasma cytokine levels determined by lab	upon enrollment, one later

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Nebraska
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laura D Bilek, PhD, PT, University of Nebraska

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 5, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 2, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 2, 2008
• First Posted (Estimated): June 4, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 28, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 25, 2023
• Last Verified: September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; stem cells; lifestyle
• Other Study ID Numbers: 0226-08-EP

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No