Several scientists think that life expectancy can be extended and it is can be determined by or genetics. Scientists who are associated with this field of research are beginning to believe that aging is a disease and it might be possible to cure. Up till today, we know the basic tip of anti-aging like exercising, losing weight, optimizing our diet, and taking multivitamins supplements to optimize our hormones.
Difference between Age and Aging!
Before going further you must understand the difference between age and aging. Age is the number of years you have lived while aging is a process where the health function slowly goes to decline. And over time the body becomes more and more susceptible to chronic diseases. Most people see aging and dying as a related outcome. But in reality, everyone dies of two possible causes, they either die of accidental trauma or they get sick and succumb to some form of chronic disease.
The medical health care facilities in the developed and underdeveloped countries are more focused on increasing the life expectancy of a person but the age in life expectancy is not the same as programmed in our DNA. That programmed age is called the “maximum lifespan”, that age is the maximum age that humans are expected to live if nothing goes wrong in the first place. By now, you might have realized that life expectancy and maximum lifespan are two different things.
Scientists are more focused on increasing the maximum lifespan and try to turn back the clock on aging by inventing therapies that will extend the amount of time by keeping you less vulnerable to chronic disease and also improve your health by keeping you fit and mobile for that extended period. Our maximum age is not a number but a programmed process in our DNA where we become more vulnerable to chronic diseases as we accumulate lifetime effects of diseases. And if you can clear out those effects you can extend your maximum age. The Study of the Human genome has led to several discoveries, new treatments, and new therapies in the last couple of decades to fight against aging and detect processes leading to it. Also, we are now beginning to understand how to fight those processes and slow down aging.
Now let’s look at some aspects that cause us to age at a cellular level.
Here are the top 12 body changes that cause aging
- Damage to our DNA
The damage takes place in two forms first is damage to double or single-strand breaks, which can be recognized by enzymes and repaired and the other is the mutation of the base sequence which cannot be recognized by enzymes and cannot be repaired. This can lead to aging in a couple of ways, first is, damaged DNA activates DNA repairing proteins called PARP that can drain out the supplies of NAD+ molecules. NAD+ molecules are necessary to supply energy for several anti-aging processes. Also, damaged DNA can lead to the accumulation of dysfunctioning cells or senescent cells both of which can contribute to aging.
- Telomere shortening
- Epigenetics
This is a field of study which focuses on the condition of gene and mechanisms that decline with aging. By condition of the gene we mean whether it’s activated or not, as the mechanisms decrease with age the gee gets activated incorrectly which leads to aging.
- Unfolded or misfolded protein response
Proteins have long and short chains of amino acids, that are folded into very effective and specific shapes. Proteins function better when they are in the correct shape, if they are unfolded or misfolded, they can either malfunction or don’t function at all. If the unfolded proteins get build up in the body, it can cause aging and contribute to age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
- Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Mitochondria are small organelles that are present in the cell which is responsible for cell respiration and cycling ATP. ATP is the final product that all the nutrients are turned into. It is the energy source that fuels the cells in our body except for the brain. Mitochondria also have their DNA called mtDNA and if mtDNA dysfunctions due to damage or mutation, it can lead to aging. Till now, scientists weren’t able to point out what causes this damage but have determined cell-mitochondria dysfunction might be the cause of damage.
- Cell Senescence
It is a condition when the function of aging cells declines. In that condition, they stop dividing, change activity, and begin secreting inflammatory molecules. Although the number of senescent cells can be low in the body, they can do a lot more damage and cause aging if they get accumulated over time.
- Stem Cell Exhaustion
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells, which means they don’t belong to any specific organ or tissue type but they can develop into some other specific cell types whose function is a lot more different than they are. Stem cells allow the renewal of the cells within an organ. As we age stem cells become exhausted due to DNA damage of the proteins and this damage blocks the cell cycle of the stem cells. Stem cell exhaustion is one of the primary reasons that cause us to age.
- Glycation
It is the condition when the sugar molecules in the bloodstream combine with protein and fats. As a result, harmful molecules called “Advanced Glycation end products” or AGEs are created within the body. AGEs have a bad effect on the body especially on the skin, it causes both collagen and elastin to become weak, discolored, and less supple. As a result, it shows up on the skin surface as wrinkles, sagging, and loss of radiance.
- AMPK Pathway
We know that ATP is the cell’s energy source, when it releases the energy it gets converted into AMP molecules. Rising levels of AMP and a decline in levels of ATP cause the activation of an enzyme called AMPK. Activated AMPK promotes the rapid and efficient release of energy. This results in less fat storage, low blood sugar, less fat levels, increased insulin sensitivity, and a low risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders. AMPK enzymes also promote the steady renewal of cellular components that are critical to the immune system and reduce inflammation. But as we age AMPK levels decrease sharply, these function in the body gradually decreases that causes chronic inflammation and declining immune system.
- Chronic Inflammation and Declining Immune system
While acute inflammation is good to fight off infections and help in healing wounds whereas chronic inflammation releases pro-inflammatory signals like cytokines and reactive oxygen species which causes oxidative damage to cells and tissue. Also with age, our immune system declines and makes us more susceptible to chronic disease. Thalamus a gland that is responsible to create new T-cells, which a major component of the immune system goes into decline as we age and most of its active tissue turns into fat. Chronic inflammation and the declining immune system is the primary cause of aging.
- mTOR Pathways
This pathway is the regulator of anabolic metabolism, which is the process where new tissue is built. mTOR regulates cell growth, proliferation, mortality, and survival it regulates protein synthesis, autophagy, and transcription. The insulin-like growth factor regulates it, it is a derivative of human growth hormone, and it senses when amino acids become more active in the condition of nutrient abundance. The tricky part about it that mTOR’s are good for growth by bad for lifespan.
If you can relate insects and mice have rapid growth and have short lifespans. Whereas elephants and whales have slow growth and have long lifespans. mTOR pathways are more like a trade-off, you can have a lot of growth and a shorter lifespan or you can have slow growth and a longer lifespan. But not both
- Sirtuins
They are a combination of 7 genes that manage DNA repair. They are also called the Longevity Genes due to their critical role in several functions that are associated with the aging process. They can regulate mitochondrial biogenesis, stimulate apoptosis, and autophagy. They inhibit inflammation, stimulate signaling between the nucleus and mitochondria and between the hypothalamus and fat tissue. 3 of the genes in the 7 gene family are associated with DNA repair.
Sirtuins can only function in the presence of NAD+, which declines with age and so does the sirtuins. The declination of sirtuins is one of the leading causes of aging.
Several of these aging causes are still being researched and each day we are getting closer to understand them more in detail. And these researches have invented some therapies and interventions that you can implement today.
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