Higgins: $648,628 federal research grant for VA study

Department of Veterans Affairs award will support research on high-intensity interval training during aging

Congressman Brian Higgins announced the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development awarded VA Western New York Healthcare System and researcher Dr. Bruce Troen with a grant totaling $648,628 over four years for a study titled, “High intensity interval training and nicotinamide riboside treatment to enhance functional capacity and reduce frailty during aging.”

Troen has been a VA physician-investigator for more than 30 years, and is the chief of the division of geriatrics and palliative medicine, as well as the director of both the Center for Successful Aging and the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease at the University at Buffalo.

“One of my main goals as both a geriatrician and geroscience investigator is to prevent and reverse the adverse changes that occur with aging and age-related diseases,” Troen said. “We want to maintain a high level of function and quality of life as long as possible and even enhance health span as we age.”

Last year, Troen received a grant, also through the Department of Veterans Affairs and VA Buffalo Medical Center, to study the impacts of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and its effects on aging on older veterans aged 65-85.

Frailty is a medical condition that occurs with aging that can result in falls, hospitalization and other adverse health effects. Risk of the condition increases after the age of 65, and more than 9 million veterans experience frailty or are at risk of developing it. The potential benefit of HIIT in treating frailty is by getting the benefits of exercise a with less time commitment than other exercise options. The newly funded grant assesses whether a nutritional supplement can augment the response to high intensity interval training as we age.

Higgins said. “Learning more about potential methods of treatment and how we can produce better health outcomes is a critical part of ensuring that our veterans receive the high-quality care that they’ve earned. This research grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs will allow us to do just that right here in Western New York.”

The Buffalo VA Medical Center has received several other major research grants this year, including a grant to study treatments for blast-induced eye damage in active military personnel and veterans, and stem cell research for heart disease.