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Category: life extension – Page 131

Aging dominated by two periods of rapid change, research finds

Significant change can be stressful – divorce, death and moving all make the list – but when it comes to aging, a new paper identifies two flashpoints of enormous biological change. The recent study, by researchers at Stanford Medicine, uncovered evidence that human aging does not occur at a constant, gradual pace – but rather is marked by two significant bursts of molecular change. These bursts, observed in people around the ages of 44 and 60, suggest that aging may be driven by more complex biological processes than previously thought. The findings, published in Nature Aging, are based on comprehensive multi-omics profiling of 108 participants, providing a detailed look at how the human body changes during these key periods of life [1].

Longevity. Technology: The research sheds light on the nonlinear nature of aging, challenging the traditional view that aging is a steady, continuous process. By understanding why and how these bursts of aging occur, scientists may be able to uncover more about the mechanisms of aging and leverage that knowledge to improve both lifespan and healthspan. The findings also highlight the ever-evolving nature of aging research, which continues to refine our understanding of how and why we age.

The Stanford Medicine team, led by Professor Michael Snyder, PhD, analyzed a vast array of molecular data from participants aged between 25 and 75 years. Over a period spanning several years, the researchers collected blood and other biological samples from the participants, tracking more than 135,000 different molecules and microorganisms. The data set included a total of nearly 250 billion distinct data points, making this one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind [1].

Common drug restores youthful function to clean up aging brains

First described by Nedergaard and her colleagues in 2012, the glymphatic system is the brain’s unique waste removal process that uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to wash away excess proteins generated by energy hungry neurons and other cells in the brain during normal activity.

A drug used to induce labor in pregnant women has been shown to reactivate tiny waste-clearing pumps in the brains of old mice. The finding could hold promise as a new way to fight Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and overall cognitive decline.

When our brains are working properly, there is an excess of proteins that build up from the energy intensive processes that take place between our neurons. Those proteins need to be removed in order for the brain to continue to operate properly. When they aren’t, they can gunk up the works, leading to the beta amyloid and tau protein tangles that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease or the build up of alpha-synuclein that accompanies Parkinson’s.

In 2012 Danish neuroscientist, Maiken Nedergaard first described the system that uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to remove waste from the brain and termed it the glymphatic system. Now, Nedergaard and her colleagues have looked deeper into the glymphatic system, focusing on lymph vessels called lymphangions. These are a series of tiny pumps in the neck that are responsible for moving dirty CSF out of the brain and into the lymph system where it ultimately reaches the kidneys to be processed.

Nonlinear dynamics of multi-omics profiles during human aging

Understanding the molecular changes underlying aging is important for developing biomarkers and healthy aging interventions. In this study, the authors used comprehensive multi-omics data to reveal nonlinear molecular profiles across chronological ages, highlighting two substantial variations observed around ages 40 and 60, which are linked to increased disease risks.

Prof. Dr. Alan Widgerow — Division Chief, Center for Tissue Engineering, UC Irvine / CSO, Galderma

Innovation At The Frontiers Of Aesthetic And Regenerative Medicine — Prof. Dr. Alan Widgerow — Division Chief, Center for Tissue Engineering, UCIrvine — Chief Scientific Officer, Galderma.

Prof. Dr. Alan Widgerow, MBBCh, FCS, MMed, FACS, is Division Chief, Research, Center for Tissue Engineering (https://sites.uci.edu/ctelab/team/) and Adjunct Professor Plastic Surgery, Dept of Plastic Surgery, University of California, Irvine (https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facu…) and Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Skin Science Center of Innovation at Galderma (https://www.galderma.com/).

Prof. Widgerow is a plastic surgeon who ran a solo private practice in South Africa for over 20 years.

Prof. Widgerow completed his undergraduate and post-graduate studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He has held various positions in numerous academic and professional associations including that of President of the Association of Plastic and Reconstructive surgery of Southern Africa (APRSSA). He is author of over 190 plastic surgical related publications and 2 books. He was also the founder and medical director of 13 wound clinics in South Africa.

Prof. Widgerow relocated to Irvine California in Dec 2009 to pursue his interests in medical device innovations, cosmeceuticals and wound care, but he still plays an active role in academic medicine world-wide. In 2012 he was appointed to the Faculty of the University of California Irvine Plastic Surgery Dept as Full Adjunct Professor and Director of the Center for Tissue Engineering and in 2021 was appointed as its Division Chief of Research. He is involved in multiple projects related to adipose derived stem cell and adipose decellularized matrix, wound healing and transplantation. In 2018 he was awarded the Distinguished Faculty Mentor of the year Award by the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, UCI.

Continue reading “Prof. Dr. Alan Widgerow — Division Chief, Center for Tissue Engineering, UC Irvine / CSO, Galderma” | >

Evaluating Possible Anti-Aging Drugs

Aging is the major risk factor for the development of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and dementia. Therefore, drugs that slow the aging process may help extend both lifespan and healthspan (the length of time that people are healthy).

In a study published online on February 29 in Medical Research Archives, Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers evaluated U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for their anti-aging potential. In ranking those drugs, they gave equal weight to preclinical studies (i.e., effect on rodent lifespan and healthspan) and clinical studies (i.e., reduced mortality from diseases the drugs were not intended to treat). The four therapeutics judged most promising for targeting aging were SGLT2 inhibitors, metformin, bisphosphonates, and GLP-1 receptor agonists. Since these drugs have been approved for safety and used extensively, the researchers recommend they be evaluated for their anti-aging potential in large-scale clinical trials.

The study’s corresponding author was Nir Barzilai, M.D., director of Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research, professor of medicine and of genetics and the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair in Aging Research at Einstein, and a member of the National Cancer Institute–designated Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center. The lead author was Michael Leone, a medical student at Einstein.

A naturally occurring peptide called PEPITEM could potentially rejuvenate the immune response in older individuals and protect against ‘inflammageing’

which is widely believed to be the root cause of many age-related diseases.

The study, published today in the journal npj Aging, raises the exciting possibility of a protective agent that could dampen age-related inflammation and restore normal immune function in older adults.

PEPITEM (Peptide Inhibitor of Trans-Endothelial Migration) was initially identified at the University of Birmingham in 2015. While the role of the PEPITEM pathway has already been demonstrated in immune-mediated diseases, this is the first data showing that PEPITEM has the potential to increase healthspan in an aging population.

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