Geriatrics
Associate Professor Gustavo Duque
Dr. Gustavo Duque attended medical school at the University of Caldas (Colombia). Following medical school he completed an internal medicine residency at Javeriana University in Bogota (Colombia) followed by a two-year fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at McGill University. After completing his fellowship, Dr. Duque completed a PhD in Experimental Medicine at McGill University with the thesis entitled “Molecular Changes of the Aging Osteoblast”. He joined the faculty at McGill University Medical School in 2003 as a member of the Division of Geriatric Medicine. In 2003, he also joined the McGill University-Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research as Project Director.
In 2007, he joined the faculty at Nepean Clinical School of the University of Sydney (Australia) as Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Director of the Aging Bone Research Program. His research focuses on the identification of the mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of osteoporosis in older persons as well as the prevention of osteoporotic fractures in this population.
His work on mesenchymal stem cells differentiation has provided new evidence to the understanding of senile osteoporosis including the toxic role of bone marrow fat and the potential trans-differentiation between bone and fat cells. His experiments using vitamin D in bone cells have demonstrated a new anabolic effect of vitamin D on both osteoblasts and differentiating mesenchymal stem cells.
His Research Program has developed collaborations with major academic institutions worldwide. He is currently funded by major agencies in Canada. He has published extensively on the biology of aging bone and the effect of vitamin D on bone formation. Additionally, he has pursued some clinical studies on vitamin D deficiency and falls prevention in older adults.
Dr. Duque has served as a member of several peer-review panels at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Quebec Health Research Funds and as a member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research-Publications Committee. He has been invited as ad hoc reviewer for multiple journals in the field of bone and geriatric medicine and as a member of the board of directors of Osteoporosis Canada.
Research interests
Basic sciences
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells Differentiation
- Osteoblasts vs. adipocytes
- Age-related bone marrow adipogenesis
- Osteoblast apoptosis
- Vitamin D and bone cells
Clinical sciences
- Vitamin D and falls
- Sarcopenia
- Frailty
- Falls and Fractures
Selected recent publications
Basic sciences
- The Bone and Fat Connection, new perspectives on understanding age-related bone loss. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. (In press)
- Inhibition of Protein Farnesylation Arrests Adipogenesis and affects PPARĪ³ Expression and Activation in Differentiating Mesenchymal Stem Cells. PPAR Research. Vol. 2007, Article ID 81654.
- Alendronate has an Anabolic Effect through the Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 2007 Oct;22(10):1603-11.
- Age-Related Changes in Lamin A/C Expression in Cardiomyocytes. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology 2007 Sep;293(3):H1451-6.
- Age-related changes in lamin A/C expression in the osteoarticular system: laminopathies as a potential new aging mechanism. Mechanisms of Aging and Development 2006 Apr;127(4):378-83. Epub 2006 Jan 30.
- Vitamin D in the aging musculoskeletal system: an authentic strength preserving hormone. Molecular Aspects of Medicine. Vol. 26, Issue 3 , June 2005, pp. 203-219.
- Role of Endocrine-Immune Dysregulation in Osteoporosis, Sarcopenia, Frailty and Fracture Risk. Molecular Aspects of Medicine. Vol. 26, Issue 3 , June 2005, pp. 181-201.
- 1,25(OH)2D3 acts as a bone forming agent in the hormone independent Senescence Accelerated Mouse (SAM-P/6). American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2005 Apr; 288(4):E723-30. Epub 2004 Nov 30.
- Vitamin D treatment of senescence accelerated mice (SAM-P/6) induces several regulators of stromal cell plasticity. Biogerontology. 2004, 6: 421-429.
- Preface: Taking musculoskeletal aging out of the bench: Do we finally understand frailty? Molecular Aspects of Medicine. Issue on the Molecular Mechanisms of Aging Bone. Vol. 26, Issue 3 , June 2005, pp. 141-143. Gustavo Duque, MD, PhD-Guest Editor.
- Vitamin D inhibits Fas ligand-induced apoptosis in human osteoblasts by regulating components of both the mitochondrial and Fas-related pathways. Bone. 2004, 35: 57-64.
- 1,25(OH)2D3 inhibits bone marrow adipogenesis in senescence accelerated mice (SAM-P/6) by decreasing the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPARsmall gamma, Greek2). Experimental Gerontology. 2004, 39(3): 333-338.
- Will reducing adipogenesis in bone increase bone mass?: PPARgamma2 as a key target in the treatment of age-related bone loss. Drug News & Perspectives. 2003 Jul-Aug;16(6):341-6.
- Estrogens (E2) regulate expression and response of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptors in bone cells: changes with aging and hormone deprivation. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2002 Dec 6;299(3):446-54.
- Age-related bone loss: old bone, new facts. Gerontology. 2002 Mar-Apr;48(2):62-71.
Clinical sciences
- Principles of Geriatric Medicine: Chapter Osteoporosis. Duque G, Troen BR. Ed: Hazzard et al. McGraw Hill 6th Ed. (In press)
- Understanding the Mechanisms of Senile Osteoporosis: New Facts for a Major Geriatric Syndrome. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (In press).
- Osteoporosis in Older Persons: Pathophysiology and Therapeutic Approach. Chapter 12: Treatment of Osteoporosis in Long Term Care. Duque, Gustavo; Kiel, Douglas P. (Eds.) 2008, 192 p. Chapter 12: Louise Mallet, PharmD and Gustavo Duque, MD, PhD.
- Statins for Secondary Prevention in the Elderly: A Hierarchical Bayesian Meta-Analysis. Journal of The American College of Cardiology. 2008; 51:37-45.
- Osteoporosis in Older Persons: Pathophysiology and Therapeutic Approach.
- Précis Pratique de Gériatrie, Ed: Arcand M and Hebert R. Chapter 36: Osteoporosis.
- To Treat or Not To Treat, That Is the Question: Proceedings of the Quebec Symposium for the Treatment of Osteoporosis in Long-Term Care Institutions. Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, November 5, 2004. JAMDA, 2006 Sep;7(7):435-441
- Dietetic assistants improved postoperative clinical outcomes in older women with hip fracture. ACP J Club. 2006 Sep-Oct;145(2):40.
- Ostéoporose chez le sujet âgé. La Presse Medicale, 2006 Oct;35:1547-56.
- Gait disorders are associated with non-cardiovascular falls in elderly people: a preliminary study. BMC Geriatr. 2005 Dec 1;5(1):15.
- Seasonal variance in serum levels of vitamin D determines a compensatory response by parathyroid hormone: study in an ambulatory elderly population in Quebec. Gerontology, 2006;52(1):33-9.
- Chronic hypercalcemia as a reversible cause of cognitive impairment: improvement after a single administration of Pamidronate. J Am Geriatr Soc,2005 Sep;53(9):1633-4.
- Geriatric Nutrition: Chapter 12. Skeletal Aging. Gustavo Duque MD,PhD and Bruce Troen MD. Ed., Ronni Chernoff.
- Is collectionism a diagnosis indication for Diogenes syndrome? Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 2005, 20: 709-11.
- Use of analgesics in elderly nursing home residents. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2005 May;53(5):909.
- Principles of Geriatric Medicine: Chapter 76: Osteoporosis. Ed: Hazzard et al. McGraw Hill 5th Edition.
- Osteoporosis in Older Women. Prestwood K, Duque G. Encyclopaedia of Endocrine Diseases, Volume 3, 2004.
- Severe bone changes in a case of Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome. Ann Genet. 2002 Jul-Sep;45(3):151-5.
- Anabolic agents to treat osteoporosis in older people: is there still place for fluoride? Fluoride for treating postmenopausal osteoporosis. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2001 Oct;49(10):1387-9.
- Apoptosis in Cardiovascular Aging Research: Future Directions. Am J Geriatr Cardiol. 2000 Oct;9(5):263-264.
Education
- From the Facts to the Screen: A Blended Model of Teaching Basic Hospital Skills to 2nd Year Medical Students. Medical Teacher, 2006; 28: 729-733.
- A reflection on aging: an insightful portfolio of change in attitudes towards the geriatric patients during a clerkship rotation. Educational Gerontology, 2006; 32: 605-610.
- Learning while Evaluating: The Use of an Electronic Evaluation Portfolio in a Geriatric Medicine Clerkship. BMC Medical Education, 2006; 6:4.
- Web-based evaluation of medical clerkships: a new approach to immediacy of feedback and assessment. Medical Teacher. 2003 Sep;25(5):510-4.
- Early clinical exposure to geriatric medicine in second-year medical school students – the McGill experience. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2003 Apr;51(4):544-8.
- Building a learning experience: the implementation of a clerkship in geriatric medicine. Educational Gerontology. 2003 Oct;29(8): 671-683.
Media
2006:
2005:
2004:
- McGill Reporter
- El Mercurio (Chile)
2003:
- Ob/Gyn News
- El Colombiano (Colombia)
- The Tenessian (USA)
Contact details
Nepean Clinical School
Level 5, South Block
Nepean Hospital
Email: gduque@med.usyd.edu.au