Approaches to anti-aging intervention: the promises and the uncertainties
Section snippets
Introduction: a historical perspective
The goddess of dawn, Aurora pleaded with Zeus for immortality for her husband. Regretfully, she neglected to ask that She also wanted him to remain eternally Young… However, he grew old and decrepit… Praying for his own death…
This sentiment from Greek methodology quoted from Busse’s publication clearly portrays the inevitable consequences of the aging process and mankind’s concurrent dream of longevity without demise (Busse, 1973). Many anecdotal stories tell us of our ancestors sparing nothing
A basic strategy for aging intervention
The knowledge gained from recent research efforts has given modern gerontologists more insightful approaches to possible interventions (Table 1) of the patho-physiological processes of aging (Yu, 1995). We now realize that life extension can be achieved by modulating two major pathways: the biological process, which may be the primary force governing the overall aging process, and a secondary, pathological process, which underlies the primary force.
Accordingly, longevity is determined by the
Dietary restriction paradigm
One exemplifying intervention used in experimental animal models is the well-proven dietary restriction paradigm (Yu, 1996, Frame et al., 1998). Clearly, modulating both biological and pathological processes results in a maximum intervention effect. To date, dietary restriction is the only paradigm shown to affect both average and maximum lifespans. It should be noted that the extension of maximum life extension, not average lifespan, is considered the more reliable indicator of biological
Antioxidant interventions
The cellular mechanism of free radical-induced oxidative damage has been documented by numerous experimental evidence. However, with the advancement of free radical research, many biologically reactive oxygen-devised (ROS) and nitrogen based species (RNS) were found to act as important cellular regulators in normal redox-driven cellular metabolism. The effects of the dual function of ROS and RNS and their regulatory roles on redox balance are far more than expected. Most studies are in
Hormonal interventions
Modern approaches to aging interventions have a long legacy based on an old belief that links aging to declined hormonal levels. Based on this belief, a logical step in the prevention of aging would then be to replenish deficient hormones. The Brown-Sequard experiments with self-injections of extracts prepared from sheep testes, which he termed the ‘Brown-Sequard elixir,’ attests to this type of wishful thinking (Walford, 1983).
Hormonal intervention (HI) is one of the most widely used
Concluding remarks
Broadly defined, any substance or procedure that modifies age-related changes and/or ameliorates pathological lesions can potentially be labeled as an anti-aging intervention. So far, only the dietary restriction paradigm provides the best reference point as to what a successful intervention should be by its ability to influence both the aging and disease processes as well as lifespan. Based on this prototype, we can predict that the maximum efficacy of intervention can be achieved only when
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2008, Advances in Clinical ChemistryCitation Excerpt :From the early thirties on, there is a steady decline (about 2% each year) until around age 75, when the level of DHEA in the body is about 5% of the peak level. Because DHEA‐S is related to age and longevity [296–302], it has attracted attention for possible “antiaging” effects [303–305]. Normal values for serum DHEA‐S vary with sex as well as age.
Tandem action of exercise training and food restriction completely preserves ischemic preconditioning in the aging heart
2005, Experimental GerontologyCitation Excerpt :Similarly, preinfarction angina (Abete et al., 1997; Ishihara et al., 2000) and the ‘warm-up phenomenon’ (Napoli et al., 1999; Longobardi et al., 2000;), clinical equivalents of IP, also seem to be less effective in protecting the heart against myocardial ischemia in elderly patients. Both exercise and caloric restriction greatly reduce pathophysiological modifications induced by aging and significantly increase life span in mice and rats (Holloszy et al., 1985; Bergamini et al., 1998; Yu, 1999; Masoro, 2000), but how they exert their anti-aging action is not clear. Both physical activity and caloric restriction have been shown to preserve IP in animal and human studies (Abete et al., 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003).