aging Archives - Oldnever

Omics Points to a Role for the Gut Microbiome in Aging of the Hippocampus

Some of the metabolites produced by the gut microbiome aid function in the brain. For example, there is good evidence for butyrate produced by the microbiome to improve neurogenesis in the brain via modulating expression of BDNF. Unfortunately, the amounts of a number of beneficial metabolites produced by the gut microbiome declines with age, while harmful metabolites and inflammatory signaling increases. Researchers here gather data to support a role in the hippocampus specifically for a number of metabolites that originate in the gut microbiome, the area of the brain most involved in memory function. This and many other lines of research suggest that more attention should be given to the development of therapies capable of lasting restoration of a more youthful gut microbiome, such as fecal microbiota transplantation. Aging is an intricate biological event that occurs in both vertebrates and…

Can Living in Fear Age You Faster?

Most of us would probably answer yes to that question, although there really isn’t any definitive physiological connection between psychological stress (fear) and premature aging. If you’re looking for a definition of fear, it’s anxiety that’s attached to a specific thing or a specific event or action. The dictionary defines it as an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. Anxiety is a disproportionate and usually prolonged feeling of fear. Most people with anxiety realise how disproportionate it is. In any event, both fear and anxiety cause stress. It’s important to remember that the effects of life generally and specific stressful events are determined by the reaction and meaning given to the circumstances. Not the stressor itself. We all know research has shown that stress affects us physically. From our own experience, we all know that…

Theorizing on Why the Heart Is Not Regenerative

After the central nervous system, heart muscle is one of the least capable tissues in the body when it comes to regeneration following injury. This is one of the contributing factors to the downward spiral of heart health in later life, particularly the cell death and scarring that occurs following the ischemia of a heart attack. Researchers here suggest that this lack of regenerative capacity is the rest of an adaptation in the nuclear membrane that protects heart cells from other damaging circumstances by reducing the number of pathways that allow signal molecules to pass into the cell nucleus. That is protective against harmful signals, but also interferes in the signaling necessary for regeneration. While skin and many other tissues of the human body retain the ability to repair themselves after injury, the same isn’t true of the heart. During…

How to Look 10 Years Younger: Tips for Healthy Aging

Looking young and feeling great is possible at any age! All you need are some simple tips for healthy aging that will keep you looking and feeling your best. In this blog post, we will discuss how to take care of your skin, eat a healthy diet, and get enough exercise. We’ll also talk about the importance of using sunscreen every day, no matter what the weather is like. Follow these tips and you’ll be looking and feeling younger in no time! One of the most important things you can do for your skin is to moisturize regularly. This will help to keep your skin looking hydrated and plump. Make sure to use a quality moisturizer that suits your skin type. In addition to moisturizing, you should also be sure to protect your skin from the sun by wearing sunscreen…

The Future of Aging: How Science and Technology is Changing the Way We Age

Aging used to be seen as a natural process that everyone had to go through. However, with the advance in science and technology, that is no longer the case. In this blog post, we will discuss how science and technology is changing the way we age, and how you can take advantage of these advancements to stay young and healthy for years to come! Longevity: long life; duration of life; length of existence. “The longevity of a typical human cell” synonyms: length of life, lifespan, life expectancy, duration of life. “The average longevity has increased” an instance of this. “There are many factors influencing longevity” the property or state of being long-lived. “The longevity of redwoods” synonyms: long life, long duration, long span; “the longevity of the Roman Empire” The first way that science and technology is changing the way…

What If Everyone Didn’t Age or Die?

Imagine a world where no one ever got old or died. It might sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but what if it were possible? In this world, people would continue to live healthy and full lives for centuries. There would be no more diseases, no more wars, and no more death. Sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it? But this utopia comes with a price. In a world where people don’t age or die, the population would continue to grow exponentially. Soon, there would be no more room on Earth for all of the people. Resources would become scarce, and life would become incredibly difficult. There are already seven billion people on Earth, and the population is growing every day. If everyone lived forever, the world would soon become overcrowded and unliveable. So, while a world without aging…

It’s time for solutions — not products — for aging in place

Read More at Aging and Health Technology Watch blogs You know homeowners plan to ‘age in place’ – repeated across all surveys. It makes sense to them – they like their homes, locations, their familiar neighborhoods, shops, their friends, and neighbors. Statistics underpin the goal for 93% of adults 55+. And they are willing to spend on services to enable them to remain there – home security, food and supplies delivery, and transportation services if they choose to or must go places without driving. They have fueled growth in the home remodeling businesses, spending on bathroom modifications and other aging-related enablers, especially home care – which may be an out-of-reach luxury for many. Ironically, the predicted enabling tech exists. In 2021, we published a report, The Future of Smart Homes and Older Adults. The report anticipated smart home offerings that would be…

A Survey of MicroRNAs Shown to be Relevant to Muscle Aging

Read More at Fight Aging! RNA molecules are produced in the cell nucleus by transcription machinery that reads gene sequences from the genome. MicroRNAs are among the varieties of RNA molecule that are not translated by a ribosome to produce proteins. Instead they directly participate in cell functions, often by altering the expression of other genes. Many microRNAs appear to be important players in the regulation of specific cell behaviors and tissue functions, such as regeneration and maintenance of tissues. In today’s open access paper, the authors provide an overview of some of the microRNAs that have been identified as important or potentially interesting in the context of the aging of muscle tissue, particularly in the decline of maintenance and regeneration. In the broader context beyond muscle tissue, a few first therapies that target specific microRNAs are making their way…

A View of Type 2 Diabetes as Accelerated Aging

Read More at Fight Aging! The mortality characteristics resulting from type 2 diabetes look very much like an accelerated form of normal aging, as noted in today’s open access paper reporting on a large epidemiological study. This mortality characteristic is so much like aging that at times in the past researchers have used animal models of type 2 diabetes as stand-ins for aging, in order to conduct studies more rapidly. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disease, a condition that usually arises from excess fat tissue, and is characterized by chronic inflammation, excessive blood sugar, high levels of circulating advanced glycation end-products, and other disruptive influences resulting from too much fat in the body, a state of hyperlipidemia. In some senses being overweight is a form of accelerated aging: it results in a greater burden of senescent cells, for example.…

Chronic Pain Accelerates Brain Aging, Perhaps via Inflammation

Read More at Fight Aging! A range of conditions produce chronic pain in muscle and skeletal tissue. While conditions such as osteoathritis are comparatively well understood, the etiology of chronic muscular pain disorders such as myofascial pain syndrome is poorly understood and treatment options are consequently limited. Here, researchers analyze available epidemiological data on knee osteoarthritis, and show that it suggests an inflammatory link between chronic pain and an accelerated pace of degenerative brain aging. Individuals suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) may face a higher high risk of brain aging. CMP is a leading cause of disability, affecting more than 40% of the world’s population and impacting patients’ cognitive function. Although the exact mechanism is not fully understood, thus hampering prevention and treatment efforts, research indicates that inflammatory markers associated with brain aging are higher in CMP patients, suggesting…

Efferocytosis in the Context of Aging and Age-Related Disease

Read More at Fight Aging! There is something of a tradition in the aging research community of writing reviews that attempt to summarize everything that is known of a single specific cellular behavior in the context of the panoply of cell and tissue dysfunction observed in aging. Today it is the turn of efferocytosis, the clearance of dying cells and their immediate debris by phagocytes such as macrophages of the innate immune system. It is fairly straightforward to mount an argument to suggest that more efficient efferocytosis is a good thing, as unwanted consequences attend the presence of lingering cell corpses cluttering up tissue. Like autophagy, the mechanisms making up efferocytosis are fairly well mapped, but unlike autophagy, there is no great effort underway in the research community to find ways to improve efferocytosis for functional benefit. Efferocytosis is carried…

Reversal of Markers of Aging in Cells Following Small Molecule Partial Reprogramming

Read More at Fight Aging! Partial reprogramming by exposure to Yamanaka factors resets many of the epigenetic changes characteristic of cells in aged tissue. This is a potential approach to the production of future rejuvenation therapies. At present, some research groups are attempting to move away from genetic interventions to find small molecules that can provoke reprogramming. There are some avenues that seem promising. Here, researchers assess the effects of partial reprogramming by small molecules on a range of omics data and functional parameters for cells, finding that the outcomes are much as one would expect for a successful protocol. Partial reprogramming by cyclic short-term expression of Yamanaka factors holds promise for shifting cells to younger states and consequently delaying the onset of many diseases of aging. However, the delivery of transgenes and potential risk of teratoma formation present challenges…

A Skeptical View of the Role of Nuclear DNA Damage in Aging

Read More at Fight Aging! It is evident and settled that stochastic nuclear DNA damage contributes to cancer. The more of it that you have, the worse your risk. What is still very much debated is whether nuclear DNA damage contributes meaningfully to degenerative aging, and how it does so. Most mutational damage to DNA occurs in regions that are inactive, in cells that have comparatively few divisions remaining before reaching the Hayflick limit. Even if damage alters the function of such a cell, in some non-cancerous way, it is unclear as to how this could amount to a meaningful contribution to loss of tissue function. The one school of thought is focused on somatic mosaicism, the spread of mutations throughout a tissue when mutational damage occurs in stem cells. In this case subtle dysfunctions could accumulate and interact with…

Regulatory T Cells Contribute to Reduced Myelination in the Aging Brain

Read More at Fight Aging! Myelin surrounds the axons that connect neurons to one another, and is required for the transmission of electrical impulses. This myelin sheath is maintained by oligodendrocytes. These cells do not carry out their work in isolation; a great many factors are involved in determining the size and capabilities of the oligodendrocyte population. Aging is disruptive to the myelination carried out by oligodendrocytes. The consequences are not as bad as the profound loss of myelin that takes place in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, but age-related loss of myelination does appear to degrade cognitive function. Researchers are thus interested in understanding the mechanisms involved, in search of ways to restore a youthful capacity for myelination in the aging brain. Myelin regeneration (remyelination) is essential to prevent neurodegeneration in demyelinating diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, however,…

Intermittent Fasting is Protective Against the Effects of Vascular Aging in the Brain

Read More at Fight Aging! Researchers here show that, in mice, intermittent fasting can protect against the damage done by cardiovascular aging that leads to a reduced blood supply to the brain. Forms of calorie restriction, such as intermittent fasting, are generally beneficial for long term health. This is well demonstrated in both mice and humans, though only short-lived species exhibit significant gains in life span as a result. It is interesting to note the opinion that intermittent fasting may be better than straight calorie restriction when it comes to mitigation of pathological mechanisms in neurodegenerative conditions. Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) embodies a spectrum of cognitive deficits that range from mild cognitive impairment to vascular dementia (VaD). VCI is associated with cerebrovascular diseases that arise from vascular pathological processes such as atherosclerosis, microvascular protein deposits, haemorrhages and microbleeds. These vascular…

Cellular Enlargement in Aging, a Poorly Studied Topic

Read More at Fight Aging! Some cells are small, others large. Cell size is connected to cell function, and different varieties of cell maintain tight control over their various different sizes. Senescent cells are known to become much larger than their origin cell type, and one effort to detect senescent cells in blood samples made use of this feature. Do non-senescent cells lose control of size in old tissues, however? To what degree is this a feature of aging that produces further downstream issues, versus being a consequence of other problematic changes in cell behavior that occur with age? These are not well-studied questions. A large body of literature highlights two important findings: 1) Different cell types display different average sizes and 2) cells maintain a uniform size by using several regulatory pathways. This raises the question of why cells…

The 2 Most Important Vitamins for Aging Well (You’ve Never Heard of Them!)

Read More at Sixty and Me You know about Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D. I’m sure you do your best to eat a balanced diet of all nutrients. But have you taken your daily dose of Vitamin J and Vitamin P? “What?” you may say. “Vitamin J and Vitamin P aren’t in my multivitamin, and my doctor never told me about them!” The reason that you haven’t heard of them is because I made them up. Vitamin J stands for Joy, and Vitamin P stands for Peace. In my work with older adults, I’ve noticed that these two key “vitamins” tip the balance for wellness in mind and body. Here’s what you need to know, and how to get your daily dose. The Daily DOSE I first learned about “The Daily DOSE” from Chris and Dudley…

To What Degree Can Cell Therapies Rebuild the Aging Brain?

Read More at Fight Aging! Repair of the aging brain is perhaps the most important of goals in regenerative medicine. We are the data that is stored in some way within the small-scale structures of our brain tissue, and so the options for outright replacement of brain cells and tissues are somewhat constrained. As a thought experiment, it is in principle possible, given significant progress in biotechnology, to manufacture a cloned body to receive a transplanted brain. All of the steps needed either already happen in nature, such as the growth of bodies without brains, and would need control and direction, or have been crudely demonstrated in animal studies, such as brain transplants, albeit with major limitations and risk of failure. There may well be little gain in transplanting an aged brain if it cannot be repaired, however. In any…

Arguing for Well Explored Approaches to Slow Aging to Not In Fact Slow Aging

Read More at Fight Aging! Today’s open access paper mounts an interesting argument, based on the use of a large data set for phenotypic aging in mice. They looked at transcriptomic and proteomic data for a sizable number of genes in a variety of different tissues, then grouping these into phenotypes by related function, or relation to specific age-related declines. Differences in expression by age in these phenotypic groups of genes were observed directly in mice and in human data sets. The researchers then looked the effects on phenotypes of a few very well studied interventions widely thought to slow aging in mice: growth hormone signaling inhibition, mTOR inhibition, and intermittent fasting. The authors argue, based on their data, that these interventions are essentially compensatory rather than age-slowing, in that they appear to be changing phenotypes (mostly for the better)…

Interactions Between the Aging Immune System and Aging Kidney

Read More at Fight Aging! Researchers here discuss the ways in which the aging of the immune system influences the aging of the kidney, such as through disruption of the normal participation of immune cells in tissue maintenance and repair. With age the immune system falls into a state of chronic inflammation, and unresolved inflammatory signaling is disruptive to the structure and operation of tissues throughout the body. The kidney is but one example of how this contributes to the declines of aging. With the steady increase in the number of elderly individuals globally, age-related diseases emerge as a major challenge to health care workers. Apart from functional and structural changes in the kidneys introduced by aging, immune system decline also significantly increases the risk of age-related kidney diseases. Immunosenescence is a loose definition of age-related changes in the innate…

Lessons on Aging from My Mother and Grandmother

Read More at Sixty and Me Now that I have become “their age” I find myself thinking a lot about my grandmother (Tania) and my mother (Helen). After all, they were my first aging female role models. When they were the age I am now (in my 60s), I didn’t give their age a thought because, like all daughters, I was consumed with the drama of my own life – deeply embedded in childrearing and a bad marriage. One thing I do remember, though, is that I was always amazed at how I seemed to be getting older, whilst they seemed to stay the same age: comfortably, nicely, calmly old. Or, ageless. What I would give to be able to talk to them now, to ask their advice about aging! The only thing I can do is remember and form…

Targeting the Aging of the Immune System in the Context of Frailty

Read More at Fight Aging! The immune system declines into a state of incapacity (immunosenescence) and chronic inflammation (inflammaging) with advancing age. Unresolved inflammatory signaling is disruptive of tissue function in many ways, from reduced stem cell activity to pathologically altered somatic cell behavior. It is thought to be important in the declining muscle mass and strength that contributes to age-related frailty. Thus addressing immune aging is a significant and important target in the treatment of aging as a whole. Frailty is a highly prevalent geriatric syndrome that has attracted significant attention from physicians and researchers due to its associated increase in vulnerability and healthcare costs, especially in the elderly population. Generally, frail patients suffer from multiple chronic diseases, with comorbidities and polypharmacy greatly challenging their health management. Gerontologists suggest that targeting the common pathogenesis of comorbidities rather than a…

Gain or Loss of Specific Microbial Species May Be a Better Measure of Gut Microbiome Aging

Read More at Fight Aging! It now costs little to determine the contents of the gut microbiome, producing a list of microbial species and their prevalence. Numerous companies offer this service. This data can be sliced in numerous ways, but as researchers note here, it is the gain and loss of specific populations with advancing age that produces contributions to aging. More general measures of diversity or change, those that give little to no weight to which specific microbial populations alter in abundance, do not produce good correlations with degenerative aging. It is important to consider the actions and mechanisms of specific microbes: are they causing chronic inflammation, are they generating beneficial or harmful metabolites, and so forth. The gut microbiome is a modifier of disease risk because it interacts with nutrition, metabolism, immunity, and infection. Aging-related health loss has…

Further Discussion of the Poor Evidence For Metformin to Even Mildly Slow Aging`

Read More at Fight Aging! The problem with metformin as a drug to slow aging is that the evidece to support that use is very poor. In animal studies, the results are very unreliable, and the Interventions Testing Program found no effect in its highly overengineered studies. Further, the existing human data is not supportive, taken as a whole. Even if we did want to cherry pick the better data and be hopeful, the effect size compares unfavorably with that achieved through regular exercise, and further appears to be only achieved in people with the abnormal metabolism associated with obesity and diabetes. All of the work that was done to convince the FDA to endorse the TAME human clinical trial to test the ability of metformin to slow aging is useful, but the resulting agreement on trial structure should be…

IGF1 Gene Therapy as a Neuroprotective Treatment, Slowing Female Reproductive Aging

Read More at Fight Aging! Researchers here describe an interesting approach to slowing aspects of neurodegeneration that contribute to, among other things, female reproductive aging. That is the focus of this paper, but numerous other aspects of the aging brain are also involved. IGF1 is well studied in the context of aging, and manipulation of the signaling pathways linking insulin, IGF1, and growth hormone has been shown to extend life span in a number of species. Where we can make direct comparisons between mice and humans, such as between growth hormone receptor knockout mice and humans with Laron syndrome, the effects are nowhere near as large. Suppression of growth hormone signaling can extend life by 70% or so in mice, but Laron syndrome doesn’t appear to make humans live meaningfully longer. Many approaches to slowing aging have much larger effects…

Grip Strength Remains a Decent Biomarker of Aging

Read More at Fight Aging! Of the various simple measures that correlate with mortality and risk of age-related disease, grip strength remains a relatively good option, even in this modern era of epigenetic clocks. Illustrative of this point, researchers here show a correlation between grip strength and epigenetic age data in a sizable study population. The degree to which an individual suffers from the chronic inflammation of aging may be an important determinant of this relationship. Inflammation disrupts tissue function throughout the body, and maintenance of muscle mass and strength is one of the aspects of health negatively affected by unresolved inflammatory signaling. Researchers modeled the relationship between biological age and grip strength of 1,274 middle aged and older adults using three “age acceleration clocks” based on DNA methylation, a process that provides a molecular biomarker and estimator of the…