5 facts about aging
When does a person start to age? We cannot yet answer with certainty how this mechanism is launched and whether it can be hacked. Science offers many approaches to the study of aging.
Gerontology – the science of aging
The phenomenon of aging is studied by gerontology. The term appeared at the suggestion of the Russian biologist Ilya Mechnikov in 1903.
Gerontology explores the biological, psychological and social aspects of aging and is divided into four areas. Geriatrics studies age-dependent diseases. Gerogigien describes general and special rules for maintaining a high quality of life for the elderly. Gerontopsychology focuses on psychological health, while biogerontology studies the biological mechanisms of aging.
There is no single mechanism of aging
On the one hand, aging is a complex disruption of the body. But this is also the result of its functioning, so we can say that the main cause of biological aging is life itself. Scientists identify many scenarios that lead to the deterioration of the body, and here are the main ones.
One type of disorder is gene mutations occurring in the nuclei of cells. They have a cumulative effect: the more genes are damaged, the more significant the harm to the body. It manifests itself in the problems inherent in old age, including an increase in the likelihood of chronic diseases.
Another variant of genetic failure is determined by an epigenetic factor. Epigenetics studies how genes behave if DNA remains unchanged, that is, in fact, how our body adapts to various external conditions. An example of epigenetic changes is DNA methylation. This process allows cells to determine their profile: some become epithelial cells that make up our skin, and others become muscle tissue. However, in response to stress or inflammation, the epigenetic profile may change. For example, a violation of the activity of genes responsible for the formation of bone tissue predisposes to osteoporosis.
Another problem is related to the shortening of telomeres – the end sections of chromosomes that perform protective functions. When dividing cells into daughter cells, they are constantly shortened. At a certain point, the telomere becomes so short that it is perceived as DNA damage, and the cell stops dividing – as a result, tissue regeneration stops.
Another factor is related to the malfunction of mitochondria, which supply the cell with energy. Due to the accumulation of errors in the DNA of these organelles, mitochondria, which are called "energy stations" of cells, begin to perform their work worse. The free radical theory states that the accumulation of free radicals in cells, the source of which are mitochondria, leads to aging.
Changing the quality of proteins is an important cause of biological aging. Violation of the folding process (folding of protein into a three–dimensional functional structure) triggers many pathological processes that eventually manifest themselves in diseases of the widest spectrum - from dementia to Parkinson's disease.
The reduction of life expectancy is affected by the depletion of stem cells, and failures of biological barriers that protect the internal environment of the body: blood, lymph, tissue fluid.
Stress injury theory describes aging as a result of stress.
It is important to understand that there is no single and exhaustive cause of aging, aging is triggered not only with the "extinction" of mitochondria, telomeres or DNA malfunction.
Multimorbidity: the older, the greater the risks
Multimorbidity is a condition of the body in which the manifestation of several chronic, but unrelated diseases aggravates their course. This term was proposed in 1970 by the American epidemiologist Alvan Feinstein.
Advances in genetics, immunology and pharmacology of the late XX – early XXI century allowed to increase life expectancy even in the presence of chronic diseases. Therefore, now the development of age-associated diseases is much slower than before.
Scientists suggest that the rate of aging is influenced by our intrauterine development – all those processes that occur before birth.
As for the prevention of diseases and improving the quality of life in old age, they are standard: doctors recommend setting up a daily routine, exercising, giving up bad habits and monitoring nutrition.
Diet and longevity
The effect of a low-calorie diet on the aging process has been known for a long time: a 1935 study proved that calorie restriction can make laboratory macaques or rats long-lived. Although these conclusions apply only to animals so far, the study of factors affecting life expectancy in different species is one of the most promising areas of gerontology.
Recent studies by American and Chinese experts have shown that rats that ate 30% fewer calories had increased health and endurance indicators in a fairly short period of time.
Stress resistance as a path to longevity
In 2002 , biogerontologists from University of New York Rochelle Buffenstein and Jennifer Jarvis announced a "new record holder among long-lived rodents." This rodent was a naked digger living in savannas and semi-deserts.
For his kind, he is really surprisingly tenacious: in captivity, his age reaches 40 years. Another superpower of the digger is the ability to survive without oxygen for more than 20 minutes. In addition, these rodents do not develop cancer. It is believed that the naked digger is one of the most striking examples of negligible (insignificant) aging.
With this type of aging, the body shows neither external nor internal signs of withering. Most likely, this is due to the stress resistance of the species. In order to tolerate the daily stress associated with poor living conditions or a high risk of being eaten, the species creates such genotypes that are prone to negligible aging.
Experts believe that the study of long-lived animals can help in the fight against cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and other age-related diseases.
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