CAUSES OF AGING
Aging is the deterioration, over a period of time, of our body’s physiological functions that are necessary for our survival. Aging as a process will eventually lead to cell death.
There are three major causes of aging:
- Things that cause damage to cells,
- things that respond to the cellular damage,
- and the consequences of that cellular damage over time.
The primary causes of damage in aging include:
- Telomere damage
- Epigenetic Dysregulation
- DNA Damage
- Nutrient Deprivation
- Hypoxia
- Mitochondrial Dysfunction
SENESCENCE
Several of the causes of damage shown above can induce Senescence, the process of growing old.
Senescence responds to damage with stem cell exhaustion, chronic inflammation, proteostatic dysfunction, and disruption of nutrient signaling.
One common feature of senescent cells is an essentially irreversible cell-cycle arrest that can be an alarm response caused by cell stressors or other damage. The cell normally has a 24-hour cycle, but it gets stuck in one of its many phases and can’t perform its normal functions. Senescent cells are nonresponsive to mitogenic or growth factor stimuli and they are unable to reenter the cell cycle.
When all the necessary components are working together, the cell cycle is in control. Anything that affects or influences these relationships can prematurely set the cell into senescence or cell cycle arrest.
AGE-RELATED DISEASES (ARD'S)
Senescent cell burden is low in young individuals but increases with aging in several tissues, including adipose, skeletal muscle, kidney, and skin. The accumulation of senescent cells has been shown to play a role in age-related disease.
Aging and age-related diseases (ARDs) share a common set of basic biological mechanisms such as inflammation, the accumulation of macromolecular damage, adaptation to molecular and psychological stressors, epigenetic changes, metabolic dysfunction, loss of proteostasis, and defective stem cell function.
Major age-related diseases include osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, dementia, osteoarthritis, cancer, type 2 diabetes, pulmonary fibrosis and glaucoma. Aging is related to all of these diseases. Aging has everything to do with these disease processes. Senescence affects all of these and as we age, we are more vulnerable to each of these diseases.
CORRECTION
In normal physiological conditions, senescent cells are removed by the immune system. If the senescent cell burden becomes too great, these cells and their inflammatory secretions can compromise our immune system, leaving it prone to an over-accumulation of senescent cells. Aged and weakened immune systems are less likely to defend themselves against cellular senescence. If this process is disrupted as a consequence of aging the following correctional steps are needed:
- Remove damaged cells through apoptosis
- Increase immune surveillance
- Restore tissue and cellular homeostasis
- Increase cellular efficiency
- Restore metabolic flexibility
Aging and senescence are complex and dynamic processes that lead to progressive decline in cell functionality, integrity and its regenerative potential. Current research and advancement in the field of senescence is the emergence of senolytic drugs and agents that help eradicate these senescent cells. The term senolytic means to selectively destroy senescent cells in old tissues. These cells have now become a target in ongoing research.
The idea is to use senolytics to target and potentially reverse the symptoms of aging; metabolic, physical, and cognitive dysfunction.
If you have additional questions about Senolytics or if you would like to know more about these options, call 480-839-4131 to schedule your consultation with one of our licensed physicians and UsHealthPlus today.
All patients always work directly with one of our licensed physicians to ensure patient safety and confidentiality.
It is important to remember that any program or treatment we offer at UsHealthPlus carrying the phrase ‘Anti-Aging’ is not intended to stop or prevent one from aging. Rather, our services and products are designed to help individuals effectively manage and navigate the aging process, yielding the best possible levels of health and wellness.
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