Volunteers tested in a 50-year-long study provide invaluable data

Every year hundreds of people travel to Baltimore for an unusual purpose. They are not there to tour the city's aquarium or sample its fabled blue crabs. They are not in search of fame or money. Other than free lodging, they receive nothing in exchange for their visit, which entails a certain amount of discomfort.

No, these folks, some of whom have made this journey for decades, believe the trip is worth their time and expense because how they live — calculated according to everything from the strength of their grip to how many apples they consume in a month — may offer clues to how the rest of us might live better, longer, healthier lives.

These individuals — homemakers, retirees, doctors and myriad others — are participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), the country's longest-running study of aging.

Since 1958, more than 1,400 volunteers have agreed to regularly undergo in-depth physicals and memory and other screenings conducted by the study's physicians. The resulting data span more than half a century and are a gold mine for researchers interested in the aging process.

Because of the BLSA, scientists know that signs indicating that a person could be at risk for dementia and other cognitive diseases may appear 20 years before symptoms emerge. Findings that today are common knowledge (that exercise can help reduce high blood pressure, for one) can be traced back to BLSA's annual physicals and the data analysis done by the study's scientists.

Think of it as a vast historical record.

The BLSA is one of many projects being done by the National Institute on Aging, but the study itself is a rarity. Few institutions will undertake such an extensive venture, largely because the commitment required from individuals is enormous, said the study's director, Luigi Ferrucci.

It's not just researchers who toil for years sifting through mountains of data. BLSA participants also are devoted to helping researchers fulfill the study's goals: One person has been enrolled for 47 years. The oldest participant is 102 and has made the required pilgrimage to Baltimore regularly for 38 years.

"Participants really, really love the study," said Ferrucci, a genial, gray-haired physician who first learned about the BLSA as a student in his native Italy. "They feel they are making a contribution to science, and they feel like aging is such an important and under-studied issue, anything they can do to help, they want to do." Participants come from as far as Norway. Some even donate their bodies to the BLSA autopsy study.

"It's a chance to make a unique contribution to research on aging," said Richard Sprott of Potomac, Md., one of the participants, "since this is the only research project of its kind in the world."

As understanding of aging has changed, so have elements of the study. Researchers recently incorporated a new component into their research, Insights Into the Determinants of Exceptional Aging and Longevity study (IDEAL), an effort to uncover the secrets of those who age exceptionally well: Think 80-year-olds who ski and jog or 90-year-olds whose hearing and memory put a 30-year-old to shame. Ferrucci estimates only about 0.5 percent of the population has such abilities.

This is no vacation. During their stay, participants will have a physical that goes well beyond sticking their tongues out and saying "ahhhhh." They rarely will sit for more than 30 minutes before they are whisked away for another exam or stuck with another needle. Sprott, now in his 12th year in the study, confirms that the pace can be brutal.

Researchers take routine measures (temperature, blood pressure and weight), but participants also undergo more sophisticated tests. Echocardiograms help researchers examine hearts, and spirometry tests measure lung function. In addition to collecting blood and urine, researchers might also take samples of the participants' breath.

Even simple tests can provide valuable insight. Researchers will evaluate a participant's grip strength, which previous BLSA research has shown can predict whether someone might be at higher risk of complications after surgery or more likely to die prematurely.