Addressing age-related diseases by tackling aging
Recent studies have explored the potential to slow or reverse the aging process in order to prevent and treat age-related diseases.
As individuals age, they often face a heightened risk of developing an age-related disease or disability as a result of an accumulation of molecular and cellular damage and defects throughout the body, according to a report from the National Institutes of Health.
The researchers are currently seeking to better understanding an individual’s biological age — a set of differences in the development of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and dementia earlier or later in life that can help measure aging at the molecular level. These measurements may include assessing biomarker levels to compare biological age with chronological age as well as evaluating how fast or slow an individual is aging.
In a study, researchers analyzed DNA methylation among more than 1,000 individuals born between 1972 and 1973. Each of the participants underwent comprehensive health evaluations and blood tests between the ages of 26 and 45 years. The researchers then used machine-learning models to calculate DNA methylation patterns and establish the DunedinPACE algorithm. The participants with faster aging rates were more likely to have poorer health, chronic diseases and early mortality.
Additional studies have examined factors in human cord plasma that could help rejuvenate the brain by improving gene expression, plasticity and parameters of cognitive function like memory and learning. A protein called TIMP2 may be critical to these findings, demonstrating that plasma from young donors could help treat neurodegenerative diseases.
Experts cited in the article suggested that since age-reversing therapies are still not available, individuals should partake in regular physical activity, abstain from smoking, follow healthy diets, restrict calorie intake, maintain a healthy weight and achieve adequate sleep each night to slow the biological aging process.
Read more: NIH
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