The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is recruiting healthy volunteers to study whether a diabetes drug can slow aging.
OMRF scientist Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., is investigating how metformin impacts insulin sensitivity and its link to the biological processes of aging. The 12-week study will take place at the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center in Oklahoma City and is open to adults between the ages of 40-75 without chronic disease.
“Aging is the leading risk factor for all chronic diseases. If we can slow the process, we may simultaneously slow or prevent the onset of conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia,” said Miller, a physiologist in OMRF’s Aging and Metabolism Research Program.
Metformin is the world’s most prescribed diabetes drug and is believed to be effective at slowing aging. In a 2019 study, Miller found the drug to be less impactful for this purpose when combined with exercise in sedentary adults. By understanding how metformin impacts the cellular function of healthy volunteers in the absence of exercise, Miller hopes to further show who it can — and cannot — benefit.
Volunteers will undergo a health screening prior to enrollment. Those with known heart disease, diabetes, bleeding disorders, cancer or other major illnesses do not qualify for the study. Strict Covid-19 protocols will be followed to ensure participant safety.
Once admitted, visits may range from 10 minutes to five hours and will include blood draws, muscle biopsy, a bone density scan and an insulin sensitivity test. Participants will be compensated for time and travel, and metformin or placebo will be provided at no cost.
To participate or for more information, contact Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources at 405-271-3480 or osctr@ouhsc.edu.
Funding for the research is provided by National Institute on Aging grant No. R01AG064951, a part of the National Institutes of Health.
The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. IRB 10699

By Nick Thomas

When the Los Angeles Hollywood Museum reopened in August, having closed its doors to the public during much of the pandemic, Claudia Wells was one of many guests invited to celebrate the event that included a “Back to the Future” exhibit (www.thehollywoodmuseum.com).
Wells appeared in the original 1985 movie as Jennifer Parker, girlfriend to Marty McFly played by Michael J. Fox who starred in the beloved movie trilogy. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 at age 29, Fox later established the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (www.michaeljfox.org) which was also presented with a $5,000.00 donation during the event.
“I’m a big cheerleader for the Back to the Future trilogy,” said Wells from Los Angeles (see www.claudiawells.com). “So, anything I can do to promote the movies and help support Michael I’m there with bells on.”
“Back to the Future” was Wells’ first movie role. Her scenes were brief but memorable, as was her first day on the set.
“It was the last scene of the movie with me, Michael, and Christopher Lloyd in the car,” she recalled. “I remember when he (Lloyd) got out of the car and raised up those metal glasses on his face, it ripped the old-age make-up on his forehead and we had to wait for hours for him to get the make-up redone to shoot again.”
She also recalls meeting Fox for the first time. “They were filming the Enchantment Under the Sea dance scene at a church and I was sent around to meet Michael. He came outside, gave me a hug, and told me he was looking forward to working with me. He was very positive, upbeat, kind, funny, natural, and great fun to work with.”
But when time came to reprise her role 4 years later in “Back to the Future Part II,” Wells was unavailable due to a family illness and was replaced by Elizabeth Shue in Parts II and III.
“I’ve met fans who remember watching Part II when it came out and didn’t even notice a different actress was playing Jennifer,” Wells said. “But others told me they were screaming at the screen wondering why there was a different Jennifer.”
Despite bumping into other cast members of the trilogy while traveling the film convention circuit over the years, ‘the two Jennifers’ have never met (who knows what that might do to the space-time continuum!). “I’d love to meet Elizabeth because I think she’s just a brilliant actress and I was actually quite flattered when they cast her in the role.”
After an acting gap of about 20 years, Wells returned to film and television. She also opened and still runs Armani Wells (www.armaniwells.com), a menswear store in Studio City. “The store will be 30 years old in December. I am so fortunate to have found two different careers that are completely fulfilling.”
Wells says she was thrilled to be included in the reopening of the Hollywood Museum, especially with its ‘Back to the Future” exhibit and its support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
“Michael was able to hide the disease for a number of years and I was absolutely flabbergasted when I first heard he was diagnosed,” she said. “He was so good at physical comedy and so healthy. But he has not only been an inspiration to others who have Parkinson’s but has encouraged research that will hopefully lead to a cure one day.”
Nick Thomas has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See www.tinseltowntalks.com.

In an effort to provide transparency regarding the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, four Oklahoma City health systems are joining together to provide regular updates on COVID-19 case counts and bed availability.
The health systems will provide a joint update every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until our health care community begins to see relief from this current surge.
As a reminder, these numbers are constantly changing as our teams work to discharge, transfer, and admit patients throughout the day.
INTEGRIS Health: INTEGRIS Health currently has 210 COVID-19 patients in our hospitals, with 173 of those patients in the metro. INTEGRIS Health has no available ICU beds.
Mercy: Mercy currently has 118 inpatients with COVID-19 in Mercy hospitals across Oklahoma, with 66 of those patients at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. Mercy has no available ICU beds and three patients waiting in the ER for an ICU bed.
OU Health: OU Health hospitals (all three, including Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health): 42 inpatients with COVID-19. OU Health has no available beds for COVID-19 patients.
SSM Health St. Anthony: 140 inpatients with COVID-19 in SSM Health St. Anthony hospitals. No ICU beds are available.
Information as of Aug. 27, 2021.

In 1946, a polio vaccine was still years away. DNA was just a group of letters. And no one had any idea cigarettes caused cancer.
But in Oklahoma, a group of citizens recognized that it wasn’t enough for physicians to work each day to treat illnesses like tuberculosis, heart disease and cancer. To make real headway against disease, medicine had to do more.
So, they created an institute where scientists could devote their entire careers to rooting out the causes of human disease: the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
Saturday marks OMRF’s 75th anniversary. On Aug. 28, 1946, Oklahoma’s Secretary of State granted the charter of the new foundation that would, in the words of an early fundraising brochure, conduct “scientific investigations in the field of medical research to attack killing and crippling diseases about which little is known by science.”
“Oklahoma is a young state, so we sometimes find ourselves playing catch-up,” said OMRF Interim President Adam Cohen. “But when it came to creating an independent research institute, we were on the cutting edge.” (story continues below)

To fund the construction of OMRF, which would become one of only a handful of independent biomedical research institutes at that time, Gov. Roy J. Turner led a drive that spanned all 77 of the state’s counties. The state’s physicians organized one fundraising campaign, and pharmacists, dentists and nurses followed suit with their own efforts. When Turner declared a statewide “Research Week,” organizers held 137 meetings in 42 cities and towns over seven days.
“This is one of the finest things we of Oklahoma ever have attempted,” said Grace Marlow of Shawnee in 1947, when she and her husband donated $26,000 to the new foundation in memory of their late son. “Such a wonderful movement cannot fail.”
All told, 7,000 Oklahomans gave more than $2 million to build the foundation. And what began as an 18-person scientific staff has since grown into an internationally recognized research institute.
OMRF now employs 450 staff members who study cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders and diseases of aging. Their discoveries have yielded hundreds of patents and three lifesaving drugs now available in hospitals and clinics worldwide. Most recently, Adakveo became the first targeted therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for sickle cell disease, which affects an estimated 100,000 Americans.
OMRF scientists made crucial insights that paved the way for powerful protease inhibitors that transformed the therapeutic landscape for people with HIV/AIDS. The National Institutes of Health has designated OMRF an Autoimmunity Center of Excellence, one of only 10 in the country, for its work on conditions such as lupus, where OMRF researchers have played a role in identifying or confirming more than 60 genes involved in the disease.
OMRF has also taken on emerging challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s now serving as the lead clinical site for a nationwide clinical trial sponsored by the NIH to study why immunocompromised patients fail to respond adequately to Covid-19 vaccines.
“The goal of every medical researcher is to make discoveries that improve people’s lives,” said Rodger McEver, M.D., OMRF’s vice president of research. “OMRF scientists have done that, and they’re continuing to do so.”
OMRF’s founding donors could not have foreseen the advances their gift would make possible. Still, said McEver, “I hope they’d be proud.”

Friends of the Capitol was honored to be a part of the Celebration of the Life of Oklahoman, Robert Miner, by engraving his name at the Memorial Plaza at the Oklahoma State Capitol and meeting Miner’s friends and family who visited his paver. Nothing was going to stop Miner’s loved ones from celebrating his life, Covid-19, construction or heat, it did not matter!
Bob Nelson Miner, 77, of Edmond, Oklahoma was a very special Oklahoman. He leaves an incredible legacy of love for his country and his people. A graduate of the University of Kansas’ political science program, he held top management positions on Bob Dole’s U.S House of Representatives and U.S Senate staffs from 1962 to 1977. Bob was a business owner, golfer, photographer and strong health care advocate. He served in many leadership roles while volunteering for the American Heart Association. Bob retired in 2018 from the Oklahoma State Department of Health as the Clean Indoor Air Coordinator where he passionately worked toward a tobacco free Oklahoma.
“Friends of the Capitol” loves being a part of celebrating the life of a loved one by engraving a name on a granite paver at the Oklahoma State Capitol. “I have made so many friends though our non-profit when a donor donates at paver for a loved one”, says Amy Dillon, Executive Director.
Friends of the Capitol is a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) corporation that is devoted to providing private funds to maintain and improve the beauty of the Oklahoma State Capitol building and complex and its works of art. It is the only tax-exempt corporation designated to receive private funds for this purpose.

“Songs without Words”

Guest pianist Tanya Bannister joins the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble in their season-opening concert “Songs without Words,” Tuesday, September 21, 7:30pm at First Baptist Church in midtown Oklahoma City. The concert spans two centuries with works by Romantic era composers Robert Schumann, Carl Maria von Weber, and Walter Rabl, alongside the elegiac “Soliloquy” by living American composer John Corigliano. Tanya Bannister is a versatile pianist serving as co-founder and artistic director of AlpenKammerMusic in Austria.
John Corigiliano (b. 1938) began “Soliloquy” as an elegy for his late father, a former concertmaster who found solace in the violin. The work is adapted from his clarinet concerto commissioned for New York Philharmonic clarinetist Stanley Drucker and Leonard Bernstein as conductor, whose personalities are reflected in the first and third movements, respectively. (story continues below)

German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) dedicated his Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major to his beloved wife and fellow pianist/composer Clara Schumann, who regularly performed it. Schumann composed it and five other chamber music pieces in just one year, and Clara considered the work “splendid, full of vigor and freshness.”
“Introduction, Theme, and Variations” for clarinet and string quartet was formerly attributed to German composer Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), but it is now thought to be composed by his contemporary Joseph Küffner (1776 – 1856), known more for his guitar music. Similarly, Austrian composer Walter Rabl (1873-1940) is less well known today, but Johannes Brahms awarded him first prize at the 1896 Vienna Tonkünstlerverein (Musician’s Society) competition for his Quartet in E-Flat Major for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.
Musicians appearing in the concert are: Tanya Bannister (piano), Chad Burrow (clarinet), Gregory Lee and Katrin Stamatis (violins), and Jonathan Ruck (cello).
Admission for each concert is $20 at the door and free for children, active-duty military, and students with ID. Or, save $55 with a $125 season pass for all 5 regular season and 4 summer 2022 festival concerts. Passes are available by mail or online at brightmusic.org/passes. Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble, Oklahoma City’s own chamber ensemble, will perform its 2021-22 season of fine classical chamber music at First Baptist Church, 1201 N Robinson in midtown Oklahoma City. The venue offers plenty of space for social distancing. Free parking is available north and southwest of the building. For more information about the ensemble and upcoming concerts, visit www.brightmusic.org.

Dear Savvy Senior, Does Social Security offer any special help to beneficiaries who struggle managing their benefits? My aunt, who has no children, has dementia and struggles keeping up with her bills and other financial duties. Inquiring Niece

Dear Inquiring,
Yes, Social Security actually has a little-known program known as the “representative payee program” that helps beneficiaries who need help managing their Social Security benefit payments. Here’s what you should know.
Representative Payee Program
Authorized by congress back in 1939, the Social Security representative payee program provides money management help to beneficiaries who are incapable of managing their Social Security income. Beneficiaries in need of this help are often seniors suffering from dementia, or minor children who are collecting Social Security survivors’ benefits.
Currently more than 5 million Social Security beneficiaries have representative payees.
Representative payees also handle benefits for nearly 3 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a Social Security administered benefit program for low-income people who are over 65, blind or disabled.
Who Are Payees?
A representative payee is typically a relative or close friend of the beneficiary needing assistance, but Social Security can also name an organization or institution for the role – like a nursing homes or social-service agency.
Some of duties of a representative payee include:
* Using the beneficiary’s Social Security or SSI payments to meet their essential needs, such as food, shelter, household bills and medical care. The money can also be used for personal needs like clothing and recreation.
* Keeping any remaining money from benefit payments in an interest-bearing bank account or savings bonds for the beneficiary’s future needs.
* Keeping records of benefit payments received and how the money was spent or saved.
* Reporting to Social Security any changes or events that could affect the beneficiary’s payments (for example, a move, marriage, divorce or death).
* Reporting any circumstances that affect the payee’s ability to serve in the role.
As a representative payee, you cannot combine the beneficiary’s Social Security payments with your own money or use them for your own needs. The bank account into which benefits are deposited should be fully owned by the beneficiary, with the payee listed as financial agent.
Some payees, generally those who do not live with the beneficiary, are required to submit annual reports to Social Security accounting for how benefits are used. For more information on the responsibilities and restrictions that come with the role, see the Social Security publication “A Guide for Representative Payees” at SSA.gov/pubs/EN-05-10076.pdf.
How to Get Help
If you believe your aunt may need a representative payee, call Social Security at 800-772-1213 and make an appointment to discuss the matter at her local office. Applying to serve as a payee usually requires a face-to-face interview.
Social Security may consider other evidence in deciding if a beneficiary needs a payee and selecting the person to fill the role, including doctors’ assessments and statements from relatives, friends and others in a position to give an informed opinion about the beneficiary’s situation.
You should also know that if you become your aunt’s representative payee you cannot collect a fee for doing it. However, some organizations that serve in the role do receive fees, paid out of the beneficiary’s Social Security or SSI payments.
For more information on the program visit SSA.gov/payee.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

The Airbase Arizona Flying Museum is bringing one of the most iconic warplanes from World War II to visit WIley Post Airport, September 7-12. Rides and ground tours may be purchased for our B-25, Maid in the Shade. The public can experience a Living History Flight in a fully restored B-25 Bomber on Friday to Sunday, September 10-12.
The aircraft will be open to the public for ground tours Tuesday and Friday to Sunday from 2-6 pm and Wednesday and Thursday from 9 am-6 pm. To schedule a ride book online at www.azcaf.org/tour or call 480-462-2992.
The B-25 proved to be one of the best weapons and was possibly the most versatile aircraft of WWII. Heavily armed, it was utilized for high- and low-level bombing, strafing, photo-reconnaissance, and submarine patrol. Its most distinguishing role was in the historic raid over Tokyo in 1942 by the Doolittle Raiders. The B-25 saw duty in every combat area flown by the Dutch, British, Chinese, Russian, Australian, and US forces.
Our particular B-25J, Maid In The Shade, served her wartime duty with the 319th Bomb Group, 437th Squadron at Serragia Airbase, Corsica. There it was assigned Battle Number 18. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy and Yugoslavia between November 4 and December 31, 1944. The majority of the targets were railroad bridges. After the war, she was used as a trainer before being sold at auction and used as an insect sprayer. She was acquired by Airbase in 1981 and after a 28-year extensive restoration, flew again in 2009.
The Airbase Arizona Flying Museum, a unit of the Commemorative Air Force, has operated from historic Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona for over 40 years providing inspiring and educational experiences to young and old. Its annual aircraft touring programs, living history flights and its top-rated exhibition museum in Mesa, Arizona are available to the public year-round. Its mission is to ‘Educate – Inspire – and Honor,’ through its many programs of flight and living history experiences. Airbase Arizona is a not-for-profit educational organization, designated Blue Star Family Museum and is affiliated with the Smithsonian.
The event will be at the Wiley Post Airport, Meta Special Aerospace FBO 7200 NW 63rd St, Bethany, OK

*Includes 64 pediatric hospitalizations
**Focus, Rehabilitation and Tribal Facilities numbers are not assigned to a specific region as their patient populations reside across the state. Information provided through survey of Oklahoma hospitals as reported to HHS as of the time of this report. Response rate affects data. Facilities may update previously reported information as necessary.
Data Source: Acute Disease Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health. *As of 2021-08-26 at 7:00 a.m.

INTEGRIS Health has made it our mission to partner with people to live healthier lives, and in keeping with that promise we are excited to announce the construction of a state-of-the-art Heart and ICU Hospital expansion at the INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Northwest Expressway campus.
INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center has long been known as Oklahoma’s leader in caring for the most complicated medical needs—from the state’s only burn center to the hospital that performs the most solid organ transplants.
The new 209,000 square foot building will have 64 ICU beds, multiple cardiac catheterization labs, cardiovascular operating rooms, hybrid operating rooms, electrophysiology heart labs and convenient cardiac diagnostic testing areas. The new space is designed with the patient in mind, making navigating the hospital and clinics as easy as it has ever been in one convenient location.
Construction begins immediately and will be completed in 2024. “INTEGRIS Health is a not-for-profit, community health system, which means it is governed by Oklahomans for the benefit of Oklahomans,” said Timothy Pehrson, president and chief executive officer of INTEGRIS Health. Pehrson continued, “when the project was presented to the board, they were delighted with the concept of continuing INTEGRIS Health’s legacy of being the most trusted partner for health in Oklahoma. The new Heart and ICU Hospital expansion at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center will help Oklahomans for many generations to come.”