scholarly journals Is Early Life Adversity a Trigger towards Inflammageing?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam Merz ◽  
Jonathan D. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Chronic Viral Infections ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Distinct Features ◽  
Near Future

There are many ‘faces’ of early life adversity (ELA), such as childhood trauma, institutionalization, abuse or exposure to environmental toxins. These have been implicated in the onset and severity of a wide range of chronic non-communicable diseases later in life. The later-life disease risk has a well-established immunological component. This raises the question as to whether accelerated immune-ageing mechanistically links early-life adversity to the lifelong health trajectory resulting in either ‘poor’ or ‘healthy’ ageing. Here we examine observational and mechanistic studies of ELA and inflammageing, highlighting common and distinct features in these two life stages. Many biological processes appear in common including reduction in telomere length, increased immuno-senescence, metabolic distortions and chronic (viral) infections. We propose that ELA shapes the developing immune, endocrine and nervous system in a non-reversible way, creating a distinct phenotype with accelerated immuno-senescence and systemic inflammation. We believe that ELA acts as an accelerator for inflammageing and age-related diseases. Furthermore, we now have the tools and cohorts to be able to dissect the interaction between early life adversity and later life phenotype. This should, in the near future, allow us to identify the ecological and mechanistic processes that are involved in ‘healthy’ or accelerated immune-ageing.

Summary and Assessment of Studies on Cardiac Aging in Nonhuman Primates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hillary F Huber ◽  
Peter W Nathanielsz ◽  
Geoffrey D Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cardiac Aging ◽  
Related Disease ◽  
Biomarkers Of Aging ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range

Nonhuman primates (NHP) are important translational models for cardiac aging. To assess progress in this research area and to provide a reference for other investigators, we identified papers indexed in PubMed to determine what species, ages, outcomes, treatments, and approaches have been studied. Since 1983, 33 studies of cardiac aging in NHP have been published.Of these, 27 used species of macaque, 6 baboon, 1 vervet, 1 orangutan, and 1 marmoset (some studies were multispecies).Common research approaches were echocardiography, ECG, and histology of the left ventricle. Only 10 studies performedsex-based analyses. The average age of the oldest macaque studied was 26 y. The reported mean lifespan of macaques incaptivity is around 30 y. The age of the oldest baboon studied was 24 y. Baboons in captivity are reported to live on averageto 21 y. Twelve studies took a “life course” approach, studying animals of a wide range of ages from less than or equal to 10y through the late teens to thirties, and employing analyses designed to show change over time. Keeping NHP into old ageis a major challenge for biomedical research. The ideal design is to start monitoring in early life and to track how cardiacstructure and function change with age. Important issues for future research are an increased focus on life-course approaches, investment in existing life-course NHP cohorts, better reporting of study sample characteristics, more molecular studies to identify genetic risk factors and mechanisms, attention to sex as a biological variable, a move away from descriptive reports to mechanistic studies, development of biomarkers to predict disease risk, and exploration of interventions that are implemented early in life to prevent or delay age-related disease later in life. Reducing exposure to early life adversity, identifying early-life biomarkers of aging and age-related disease, and early treatment can contribute to longer health span.

scholarly journals An experimental demonstration that early-life competitive disadvantage accelerates telomere loss

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1798) ◽  
pp. 20141610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Nettle ◽  
Pat Monaghan ◽  
Robert Gillespie ◽  
Ben Brilot ◽  
Thomas Bedford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Plasma Lipid ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Telomere Attrition ◽  
Delayed Effects ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Competitive Disadvantage ◽  
Telomere Loss

Adverse experiences in early life can exert powerful delayed effects on adult survival and health. Telomere attrition is a potentially important mechanism in such effects. One source of early-life adversity is the stress caused by competitive disadvantage. Although previous avian experiments suggest that competitive disadvantage may accelerate telomere attrition, they do not clearly isolate the effects of competitive disadvantage from other sources of variation. Here, we present data from an experiment in European starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ) that used cross-fostering to expose siblings to divergent early experience. Birds were assigned either to competitive advantage (being larger than their brood competitors) or competitive disadvantage (being smaller than their brood competitors) between days 3 and 12 post-hatching. Disadvantage did not affect weight gain, but it increased telomere attrition, leading to shorter telomere length in disadvantaged birds by day 12. There were no effects of disadvantage on oxidative damage as measured by plasma lipid peroxidation. We thus found strong evidence that early-life competitive disadvantage can accelerate telomere loss. This could lead to faster age-related deterioration and poorer health in later life.

Protector and Casualty

2019 ◽  
pp. 495-522
Author(s):  
Meg Dennison ◽  
Katie McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Positive Emotionality ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Adverse Experiences ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Positive Valence

Early-life adversity is associated with elevated risk for a wide range of mental disorders across the lifespan, including those that involve disruptions in positive emotionality. Although extensive research has evaluated heightened negative emotionality and threat processing as developmental mechanisms linking early-life adversity with mental health problems, emerging evidence suggests that positive emotions play an integral, but complex, role in the association of early-life adversity with psychopathology. This chapter identifies two pathways through which positive emotion influences risk for psychopathology following early-life adversity. First, experiences of early-life adversity may alter the development of the “positive valence system”, which in turn increases risk for psychopathology. Second, the association between adversity and psychopathology may vary as a function of individual differences in positive emotionality. We consider how the development of positive emotionality—measured at psychological, behavioral and neurobiological levels—may be altered by early-life adversity, creating a diathesis for psychopathology. We additionally review evidence for the role of positive emotion, measured at multiple levels, as a protective factor that buffers against the adverse impacts of adversity. In integrating these two roles, it is proposed that characteristics of environmental adversity, including developmental timing, duration, and type of adversity, may differentially impact the development of positive emotionality, leading to a better understanding of risks associated with specific adverse experiences. Methodological issues regarding the measurement of adverse environments as well as implications for early intervention and treatment are discussed.

scholarly journals Sexuality in Later Life and Mental Health Among Older Black Gay Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-314
Author(s):  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Alice Cheng ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Black Gay Men

Abstract Self-acknowledgement and integration of racial and sexual identities are significant to one’s overall sense of identity because of their implications for mental health and wellbeing. These issues are important as one ages because older people experience a wide range of factors that add layers to their ability to (re)integrate subsets of their identity into their overall self-identity such as age and age-related disabilities. This study examined the intersection of race and sexual identities on overall health status in older Black gay men, a demographic group that has historically received less attention. Data from the Social Justice Sexuality (SJS) survey of LGBTQ+ people of color which occurred over a 12-month period in the United States were analyzed. Participants (N=160), 50 years and over, responded to questions about their sexuality, social identity, family dynamics, community connection and engagement, and mental and physical health. Results show an association of mental wellbeing with racial and sexual identities. Further, results show that a strong sense of connection to other sexual minorities is positively associated with mental health in older Black gay men. We discuss the implication of findings for mental health interventions targeting this gendered population.

Progressive and predictive markers of disease evolution: platelet transcriptome in chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhu Shen ◽  
Wenfei Du ◽  
Cecelia Perkins ◽  
Lenn Fechter ◽  
Vanita Natu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Risk Stratification ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms ◽  
Penalized Regression ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Disease Evolution ◽  
Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range

Predicting disease natural history remains a particularly challenging endeavor in chronic degenerative disorders and cancer, thus limiting early detection, risk stratification, and preventive interventions. Here, profiling the spectrum of chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), as a model, we identify the blood platelet transcriptome as a generalizable strategy for highly sensitive progression biomarkers that also enable prediction via machine learning algorithms. Using RNA sequencing (RNA seq), we derive disease relevant gene expression and alternative splicing in purified platelets from 120 peripheral blood samples constituting two independently collected and mutually validating patient cohorts of the three MPN subtypes: essential thrombocythemia, ET (n=24), polycythemia vera, PV (n=33), and primary or post ET/PV secondary myelofibrosis, MF (n=42), as well as healthy donors (n=21). The MPN platelet transcriptome discriminates each clinical phenotype and reveals an incremental molecular reprogramming that is independent of patient driver mutation status or therapy. Leveraging this dataset, in particular the progressive expression gradient noted across MPN, we develop a machine learning model (Lasso-penalized regression) predictive of the advanced subtype MF at high accuracy (AUC-ROC of 0.95-0.96) with validation under two conditions: i) temporal, with training on the first cohort (n=71) and independent testing on the second (n=49) and ii) 10 fold cross validation on the entire dataset. Lasso-derived signatures offer a robust core set of < 10 MPN progression markers. Mechanistic insights from our data highlight impaired protein homeostasis as a prominent driver of MPN evolution, with persistent integrated stress response. We also identify JAK inhibitor-specific signatures and other interferon, proliferation, and proteostasis associated markers as putative targets for MPN-directed therapy. Our platelet transcriptome snapshot of chronic MPNs establishes a methodological foundation for deciphering disease risk stratification and progression beyond genetic data alone, thus presenting a promising avenue toward potential utility in a wide range of age-related disorders.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Alisoun Milne
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Life Course Analysis

Despite much emphasis on mental illness in later life, limited work has focused on mental health. This book aims to address this deficit by exploring, and explaining, mental health outcomes in later life through the lens of critical social gerontology and via the conduit of life course analysis. It adopts an approach underpinned by a commitment to understanding, and making visible, the role of lifecourse, and age related inequalities in creating or amplifying risks to mental health, as well as exploring those issues that afford protection. It aims to offer a critical review of existing discourse and disrupt the ‘taken for granted’ paradigm, including in the dementia arena. This approach not only recognises that mental health in later life is a complex multi-dimensional issue that cuts across time, cohort, social categories and individual experiences but that it is affected by a wide range of lifecourse and age related issues. It also encourages the development of understanding that adopts a wide lens of analysis and of policy and service related responses that reduce risks to mental health during the lifecourse and in later life itself. Further, it engages with the potential to learn from older people’s perspectives and lives.

scholarly journals Blocking CRH receptors in adults mitigates age-related memory impairments provoked by early-life adversity

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabel K. Short ◽  
Pamela M. Maras ◽  
Aidan L. Pham ◽  
Autumn S. Ivy ◽  
Tallie Z. Baram
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Crh Receptors

scholarly journals The influence of weather conditions during gestation on life histories in a wild Arctic ungulate

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1841) ◽  
pp. 20161760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Douhard ◽  
Leif Egil Loe ◽  
Audun Stien ◽  
Christophe Bonenfant ◽  
R. Justin Irvine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Svalbard Reindeer ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Age Related

The internal predictive adaptive response (internal PAR) hypothesis predicts that individuals born in poor conditions should start to reproduce earlier if they are likely to have reduced performance in later life. However, whether this is the case remains unexplored in wild populations. Here, we use longitudinal data from a long-term study of Svalbard reindeer to examine age-related changes in adult female life-history responses to environmental conditions experienced in utero as indexed by rain-on-snow (ROS utero ). We show that females experiencing high ROS utero had reduced reproductive success only from 7 years of age, independent of early reproduction. These individuals were able to maintain the same annual reproductive success between 2 and 6 years as phenotypically superior conspecifics that experienced low ROS utero . Young females born after high ROS utero engage in reproductive events at lower body mass (about 2.5 kg less) than those born after low ROS utero . The mean fitness of females that experienced poor environmental conditions in early life was comparable with that of females exposed to good environmental conditions in early life. These results are consistent with the idea of internal PAR and suggest that the life-history responses to early-life conditions can buffer the delayed effects of weather on population dynamics.

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