scholarly journals The Translational Geroscience Network: Supporting a New Paradigm to Alleviate Age-Related Chronic Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 831-831
Author(s):  
Jamie Justice ◽  
Stephen Kritchevsky ◽  
George Kuchel ◽  
James Kirkland
Keyword(s):  
Biological Aging ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Treatment Focus ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Basic Biology ◽  
Biology Of Aging ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Abstract Aging is the leading risk factor for many chronic diseases. Through traditional approaches to drug development and treatment focus on treating one disease at a time, the geroscience hypothesis posits that by targeting fundamental aging processes one could alleviate multiple age-related diseases. Now several geroscience-guided interventions are at the point of entering human clinical trials. To accelerate testing of this important hypothesis, an interdisciplinary Translational Geroscience Network (TGN; R33 AG061456) has recently been established. The TGN is a new national resource of aging research centers committed to working together toward complementary, small-scale, proof-of-concept “use case” clinical studies. One such pilot will be highlighted: a translational trial of senolytics, or drugs targeting the biological aging process cellular senescence in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The promise of geroscience provides another reason “why age matters”: by studying the basic biology of aging, we may open novel therapeutic opportunities for challenging age-related diseases.

scholarly journals Telomere Length as a Biomarker of Biological Aging in Shift Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Ledda ◽  
Carla Loreto ◽  
Venerando Rapisarda
Keyword(s):  
Telomere Length ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Work Schedule ◽  
Shift Workers ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Occupational Physicians ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Health Advice ◽  
Basic Biology ◽  
Biology Of Aging

Shift work (SW) comprises a work schedule that involves recurring times of nonstandard work hours balanced to a fixed daily work plan with regular day work times and has been evaluated as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A) by IARC. SW may result in increased age acceleration. This systematic review aims to elucidate the usefulness of telomere length as a biomarker of biological aging in shift workers. All studies analyzed underline a shortening of telomere length in SW, and aging in shift workers and duration of work. Methodologies to measure biological aging are possible to advance efforts to clarify the basic biology of aging and provide clinicians an instrument to communicate complex health advice to workers. Telomere length measures can also give an instrument for precision medicine, useful for occupational physicians in age-related screening conditions.

Cultural Variance and Invariance of Age Differences in Social Cognition

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Chu ◽  
Yang Fang ◽  
Vivian Hiu-Ling Tsang ◽  
Helene H. Fung
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The One

Cognitive processing of social and nonsocial information changes with age. These processes range from the ones that serve “mere” cognitive functions, such as recall strategies and reasoning, to those that serve functions that pertain to self-regulation and relating to others. However, aging and the development of social cognition unfold in different cultural contexts, which may assume distinct social norms and values. Thus, the resulting age-related differences in cognitive and social cognitive processes may differ across cultures. On the one hand, biological aging could render age-related differences in social cognition universal; on the other hand, culture may play a role in shaping some age-related differences. Indeed, many aspects of cognition and social cognition showed different age and culture interactions, and this makes the study of these phenomena more complex. Future aging research on social cognition should take cultural influences into consideration.

scholarly journals Bring Back the Rat!

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christy S Carter ◽  
Arlan Richardson ◽  
Derek M Huffman ◽  
Steven Austad
Keyword(s):  
Complete Characterization ◽  
Human Aging ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Laboratory Rat ◽  
Basic Biology ◽  
Biology Of Aging ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Compare And Contrast

Abstract As 2020 is “The Year of the Rat” in the Chinese astrological calendar, it seems an appropriate time to consider whether we should bring back the laboratory rat to front-and-center in research on the basic biology of mammalian aging. Beginning in the 1970s, aging research with rats became common, peaking in 1992 but then declined dramatically by 2018 as the mouse became preeminent. The purpose of this review is to highlight some of the historical contributions as well as current advantages of the rat as a mammalian model of human aging, because we suspect at least a generation of researchers is no longer aware of this history or these advantages. Herein, we compare and contrast the mouse and rat in the context of several biological domains relevant to their use as appropriate models of aging: phylogeny/domestication, longevity interventions, pathology/physiology, and behavior/cognition. It is not the goal of this review to give a complete characterization of the differences between mice and rats, but to provide important examples of why using rats as well as mice is important to advance our understanding of the biology of aging.

scholarly journals Aging and Changes in Complexity in the Neurobehavioral System

Medicina ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nonlinear Dynamical Systems ◽  
Biological Research ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Nonlinear Dynamical ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Sensorimotor Processes ◽  
And Task

The issue of complexity is more and more present in numerous domains of biological research, including aging research. In the present paper, based on a selective review of literature, we propose both a conceptual and a methodological framework to address age-related changes in functional complexity of the neurobehavioral system, presumably resulting from modifications of the coupling between cognitive and sensorimotor processes. In particular, after reviewing pioneering and more recent studies on aging and complexity in the neuromusculoskeletal system, we explore the possibility that an age-induced increase in the coupling between cognitive and sensorimotor domains could be captured by a stronger covariation of high-order variables, common to both cognitive and sensorimotor functioning. Our main assumption is that these variables could behave as neurobehavioral markers of aging in the neuromusculoskeletal system. The present approach markedly differs from other traditional approaches, which focused on process-specific variable correlates of chronological age, domain-by-domain, and task-by-task. It provides a coherent conceptual framework, a terminology, and a method for studying age-related coupling of cognitive and sensorimotor processes with the use of complexity and nonlinear dynamical systems theories.

scholarly journals BIOMARKER STRATEGIES FOR GEROSCIENCE-GUIDED CLINICAL TRIALS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S745-S746
Author(s):  
Jamie N Justice ◽  
George A Kuchel ◽  
Nir Barzilai ◽  
Stephen Kritchevsky
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Expert Committee ◽  
Biomarkers Of Aging ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Trial Outcomes ◽  
Biology Of Aging ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Significant progress in the biology of aging and animal models supports the geroscience hypothesis: by targeting biological aging the onset of age-related diseases can be delayed. Geroscience investigators will test this hypothesis in a multicenter clinical trial, to determine if interventions on biological aging processes can prevent accumulation of multiple age-related diseases and aging phenotypes in older adults. Prodigious activity is underway to develop markers of biological aging, but currently there is no aging biomarker consensus to support geroscience-guided clinical trial outcomes. We convened an expert committee to establish a framework for selection of blood-based biomarkers, emphasizing: feasibility/reliability; aging relevance; ability to predict clinical trial outcomes; and responsiveness to intervention. We applied this framework and identified a short-list of blood-based biomarkers with potential use in multicenter trials on aging. We review progress on efforts to test these candidate biomarkers of aging and development of biomarkers strategy for geroscience-guided clinical trials.

scholarly journals The INSPIRE Bio-resource Research Platform for Healthy Aging and Geroscience: Focus on the Human Translational Research Cohort (The INSPIRE-T Cohort)

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Guyonnet ◽  
Y. Rolland ◽  
C. Takeda ◽  
P.-J. Ousset ◽  
I. Ader ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Translational Research ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Age Related

Background: The Geroscience field focuses on the core biological mechanisms of aging, which are involved in the onset of age-related diseases, as well as declines in intrinsic capacity (IC) (body functions) leading to dependency. A better understanding on how to measure the true age of an individual or biological aging is an essential step that may lead to the definition of putative markers capable of predicting healthy aging. Objectives: The main objective of the INStitute for Prevention healthy agIng and medicine Rejuvenative (INSPIRE) Platform initiative is to build a program for Geroscience and healthy aging research going from animal models to humans and the health care system. The specific aim of the INSPIRE human translational cohort (INSPIRE-T cohort) is to gather clinical, digital and imaging data, and perform relevant and extensive biobanking to allow basic and translational research on humans. Methods: The INSPIRE-T cohort consists in a population study comprising 1000 individuals in Toulouse and surrounding areas (France) of different ages (20 years or over - no upper limit for age) and functional capacity levels (from robustness to frailty, and even dependency) with follow-up over 10 years. Diversified data are collected annually in research facilities or at home according to standardized procedures. Between two annual visits, IC domains are monitored every 4-month by using the ICOPE Monitor app developed in collaboration with WHO. Once IC decline is confirmed, participants will have a clinical assessment and blood sampling to investigate markers of aging at the time IC declines are detected. Biospecimens include blood, urine, saliva, and dental plaque that are collected from all subjects at baseline and then, annually. Nasopharyngeal swabs and cutaneous surface samples are collected in a large subgroup of subjects every two years. Feces, hair bulb and skin biopsy are collected optionally at the baseline visit and will be performed again during the longitudinal follow up. Expected Results: Recruitment started on October 2019 and is expected to last for two years. Bio-resources collected and explored in the INSPIRE-T cohort will be available for academic and industry partners aiming to identify robust (set of) markers of aging, age-related diseases and IC evolution that could be pharmacologically or non-pharmacologically targetable. The INSPIRE-T will also aim to develop an integrative approach to explore the use of innovative technologies and a new, function and person-centered health care pathway that will promote a healthy aging.

scholarly journals Targeting Biological Aging: A New Paradigm for 21st Century Medicine

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 474-475
Author(s):  
Matt Kaeberleien
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Companion Dogs ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Practice Of Medicine ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Disease Specific

Abstract Biological age is the greatest risk factor for nearly every major cause of death and disability, including COVID-19. Yet, traditional biomedical research and clinical approaches have focused on waiting until people are sick and treating individual diseases one at a time. Attempts to “cure” age-related diseases have proven unsuccessful, and the impact of “disease-first” approaches continue to be incremental. Recent advances in understanding them mechanisms linking biological aging to disease, or geroscience, have identified interventions that directly target the molecular hallmarks of aging. Unlike disease-specific approaches, such interventions have the potential to prevent multiple diseases of aging simultaneously, thereby greatly enhancing healthspan and lifespan for most individuals. Here I will provide an overview of translational geroscience, which I believe will become the paradigm for the practice of medicine in the 21st century. I will also discuss recent work with one such intervention, the drug rapamycin, and our efforts to eventually delay or reverse biological aging in companion dogs and people.

scholarly journals Quantification of biological aging in young adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (30) ◽  
pp. E4104-E4110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Belsky ◽  
Avshalom Caspi ◽  
Renate Houts ◽  
Harvey J. Cohen ◽  
David L. Corcoran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Multiple Organ ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Research Translation ◽  
Human Aging ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Organ Systems

Antiaging therapies show promise in model organism research. Translation to humans is needed to address the challenges of an aging global population. Interventions to slow human aging will need to be applied to still-young individuals. However, most human aging research examines older adults, many with chronic disease. As a result, little is known about aging in young humans. We studied aging in 954 young humans, the Dunedin Study birth cohort, tracking multiple biomarkers across three time points spanning their third and fourth decades of life. We developed and validated two methods by which aging can be measured in young adults, one cross-sectional and one longitudinal. Our longitudinal measure allows quantification of the pace of coordinated physiological deterioration across multiple organ systems (e.g., pulmonary, periodontal, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, and immune function). We applied these methods to assess biological aging in young humans who had not yet developed age-related diseases. Young individuals of the same chronological age varied in their “biological aging” (declining integrity of multiple organ systems). Already, before midlife, individuals who were aging more rapidly were less physically able, showed cognitive decline and brain aging, self-reported worse health, and looked older. Measured biological aging in young adults can be used to identify causes of aging and evaluate rejuvenation therapies.

scholarly journals Klotho: An Elephant in Aging Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1031-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Cheikhi ◽  
Aaron Barchowsky ◽  
Amrita Sahu ◽  
Sunita N Shinde ◽  
Abish Pius ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Accelerated Aging ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Organ Systems ◽  
Single Protein ◽  
20Th Anniversary ◽  
Biology Of Aging

Abstract The year 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the first publication describing Klotho. This single protein was and is remarkable in that its absence in mice conferred an accelerated aging, or progeroid, phenotype with a dramatically shortened life span. On the other hand, genetic overexpression extended both health span and life span by an impressive 30%. Not only has Klotho deficiency been linked to a number of debilitating age-related illnesses but many subsequent reports have lent credence to the idea that Klotho can compress the period of morbidity and extend the life span of both model organisms and humans. This suggests that Klotho functions as an integrator of organ systems, making it both a promising tool for advancing our understanding of the biology of aging and an intriguing target for interventional studies. In this review, we highlight advances in our understanding of Klotho as well as key challenges that have somewhat limited our view, and thus translational potential, of this potent protein.

scholarly journals Epigenetic clocks and obesity: towards the next frontier using integrative approaches and early life models

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fasil Tekola-Ayele
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
White Women ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Active Research

Abstract Why people of the same age show differences in age-related functional decline, and whether biological aging can be slowed down through lifestyle changes and therapeutics is a subject of active research. Molecular tools that predict biological age based on DNA methylation markers, known as epigenetic clocks, are facilitating these efforts. In this issue, Kresovich et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2020;XXX(XX):XXXX–XXXX) investigated a cohort of non-Hispanic white women, demonstrating positive relations between adiposity measures and the ticking rate of epigenetic clocks in blood. This commentary emphasizes that integrating molecular and genetic epidemiology approaches is crucial to dissect the complex relationship between obesity and epigenetic aging. The early life period is explored as a unique opportunity to gain novel insights into links between developmental processes and aging in later life. Lastly, the landscape of the next frontier in aging research is described in light of the imperative for transdisciplinary approaches to outline a shared vision and public health implementation dilemmas.

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