Winter 2005

The University of Colorado Denver

Volume 8, Number 2

The annual site visit evaluation of the Hartford/Jahnigen Center of Excellence (COE) program was held on December 14, 2005 at the Division of Health Care Policy and Research offices on the Fitzsimons campus. Corinne Rieder, EdD, Executive Director of the John A. Hartford Foundation, conducted the visit.

Current COE award recipients Cari Levy, MD, Stacy Fischer, MD, and Heidi Wald, MD - as well as recent COE award recipient Wendolyn Gozansky, MD, MPH - presented and discussed their accomplishments under the COE program and their career plans for continued work in academic geriatrics. Also in attendance at the visit were Andrew Kramer, MD, Principal Investigator of the Hartford/Jahnigen COE, and Robert Schwartz, MD, Co-Principal Investigator of the Hartford/Jahnigen COE, as well as COE Advisory Board Members Eric Coleman, MD, MPH, and Larry Robbins, MD.

The annual John A. Hartford
Foundation site fisit evaluation
of the Hartford/Jahnigen
COE program was held
December 14, 2005

The 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society will be held May 3-7, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Annual AGS Meeting provides a unique educational opportunity to obtain the latest information on clinical care, aging-related research, and care delivery models. The meeting also offers a number of continuing education sessions, including symposia, workshops, and meet-the-expert sessions. Further information about the AGS Annual Meeting is available at www.americangeriatrics.org

We are currently in our eighth of nine years of Hartford COE funding, and we plan to apply for continued funding through an upcoming competitive renewal process. At this time, we continue to accept applications for COE grant awards. For further information about these awards, or to request an application, please contact Danielle Holthaus at or 303-724-2424.

The 2006
Annuyal Scientific Meeting of
the American Geriatrics Society
will be held May 3-7, 2006 in
Chicago, Illinois.

About the John A. Hartford Foundation....

Founded in 1929, the John A. Hartford Foundation is a committed champion of training, research, and service system innovations that promote the health and independence of America’s older adults.

Through its grantmaking, the Foundation seeks to strengthen the nation’s capacity to provide effective, affordable care to this rapidly increasing older population by educating “aging-prepared” health professionals (physicians, nurses, social workers), and developing innovations that improve and better integrate health and supportive services.

The Foundation was established by John A. Hartford. Mr. Hartford and his brother, George L. Hartford, both former chief executives of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, left the bulk of their estates to the Foundation upon their deaths in the 1950s. Additional information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.jhartfound.org.

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Under the leadership of Jim Grigsby, PhD, the Cognition, Cancer, and Aging Research Program within the Division of Health Care Policy and Research at UCD seeks to examine the impact of breast cancer and prostate cancer on the cognitive function of older patients.

Effects of Androgen Blockade on Cognitive Function and Quality of Life in Men with Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is primarily a disease of older men. The primary treatment options for patients with prostate cancer include surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy. Androgen deprivation therapy, in which the production of androgens is suppressed, is a widely used hormone treatment for prostate cancer.

The Cognition, Cancer, and
Aging Research Program
examines the impact of breast
and prostate cancer on cognitive
function of older patients.

In addition to the side effects commonly reported (some of which include fatigue, emotional distress, and impotence), anecdotal evidence suggests that androgen deprivation therapy may have a negative effect on cognitive abilities such as concentration and memory. Although it is clear that sex hormones affect certain cognitive abilities, little research has specifically explored the impact of androgen deprivation therapy on cognitive function.

This project examines the nature and severity of cognitive impairments experienced by men undergoing androgen deprivation treatment. The cognitive abilities of androgen deprivation patients will be compared with those of

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