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Study Links Muscle Loss to Alzheimer’s Risk - Neuroscience News
A study of 621 older adults found that those with smaller temporalis muscles were 60% more likely to develop dementia and experienced greater cognitive and brain volume decline over nearly six years.
Uncovered: Key to how exercise protects against consequences of aging -- ScienceDaily
The team of scientists at the Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI), led by Professor Tony Tiganis, reveals that reductions in skeletal muscle reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation during ageing is instrumental in the development of insulin resistance. According to Professor Tiganis, skeletal muscle constantly produces ROS and this is increased during exercise.
"Exercise-induced ROS drives adaptive responses that are integral to the health-promoting effects of exercise," he said.
In a paper published Dec. 15 in the journal Science Advances, the research team show how an enzyme called NOX-4 is essential for exercise-induced ROS and the adaptive responses that drive metabolic health.
Researchers find surprising benefit to the immune system following infection -- ScienceDaily
"Now we know that when you have these fairly substantial infections, interferon type 1 molecules are making the MHC and Interleukin 7 signals stronger, more abundant and more available to naïve T cells. It has never been shown that an infection can do something like this," Dr. Nikolich-Žugich said. "This study showed that an infection not only better maintained the number of naïve T cells, but it put them on a slightly higher state of alertness."
Agatston score is a semi-automated tool to calculate a score based on the extent of coronary artery calcification detected by an unenhanced low-dose CT scan, which is routinely performed in patients undergoing cardiac CT. Due to an extensive body of research, it allows for early risk stratification as patients with a high Agatston score (>160) have an increased risk for a major adverse cardiac event (MACE) 2. Although it does not allow for the assessment of soft non-calcified plaques, it has shown a good correlation with contrast-enhanced CT coronary angiography 1.
Gut microbiome implicated in healthy aging and longevity: Data from over 9,000 people reveal a distinct gut microbiome signature that is associated with healthy aging and survival in the latest decades of life -- ScienceDaily
The data showed that gut microbiomes became increasingly unique (i.e. increasingly divergent from others) as individuals aged, starting in mid-to-late adulthood, which corresponded with a steady decline in the abundance of core bacterial genera (e.g. Bacteroides) that tend to be shared across humans.
Strikingly, while microbiomes became increasingly unique to each individual in healthy aging, the metabolic functions the microbiomes were carrying out shared common traits. This gut uniqueness signature was highly correlated with several microbially-derived metabolites in blood plasma, including one -- tryptophan-derived indole -- that has previously been shown to extend lifespan in mice. Blood levels of another metabolite -- phenylacetylglutamine -- showed the strongest association with uniqueness, and prior work has shown that this metabolite is indeed highly elevated in the blood of centenarians.
"This uniqueness signature can predict patient survival in the latest decades of life," said ISB Research Scientist Dr. Tomasz Wilmanski, who led the study. Healthy individuals around 80 years of age showed continued microbial drift toward a unique compositional state, but this drift was absent in less healthy individuals.
"Interestingly, this uniqueness pattern appears to start in mid-life -- 40-50 years old -- and is associated with a clear blood metabolomic signature, suggesting that these microbiome changes may not simply be diagnostic of healthy aging, but that they may also contribute directly to health as we age," Wilmanski said. For example, indoles are known to reduce inflammation in the gut, and chronic inflammation is thought to be a major driver in the progression of aging-related morbidities.
Could playing host to hookworms help prevent aging? -- ScienceDaily
They reveal how the loss of helminths has so far been linked to a range of inflammatory diseases, including asthma, atopic eczema, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. Some studies have shown that natural infection with helminths can alleviate disease symptoms, for example in multiple sclerosis and eczema, while other studies in animal models suggest that intentional infection with helminths could have benefits against disease.
The safer, and perhaps more palatable, option is the concept of using helminth-derived proteins to achieve the same therapeutic benefits. This was tested recently in mice and shown to prevent the age-related decline in gut barrier integrity usually seen with a high-calorie diet. It also had beneficial effects on fat tissue, which is known to be a major source of inflammageing.
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment: Clinical trial reverses two biological processes associated with aging in human cells -- ScienceDaily
The findings indicated that the treatments actually reversed the aging process in two of its major aspects: The telomeres at the ends of the chromosomes grew longer instead of shorter, at a rate of 20%-38% for the different cell types; and the percentage of senescent cells in the overall cell population was reduced significantly -- by 11%-37% depending on cell type.
"Today telomere shortening is considered the 'Holy Grail' of the biology of aging," Professor Efrati says. "Researchers around the world are trying to develop pharmacological and environmental interventions that enable telomere elongation. Our HBOT protocol was able to achieve this, proving that the aging process can in fact be reversed at the basic cellular-molecular level."
Brain benefits of exercise can be gained with a single protein: Findings open door to drugs that could help protect the aging brain -- ScienceDaily
The new study, published July 9, 2020 in Science, showed that after mice exercise, their livers secrete a protein called Gpld1 into the blood. Levels of this protein in the blood correspond to improved cognitive function in aged mice, and a collaboration with the UCSF Memory and Aging Center found that the enzyme is also elevated in the blood of elderly humans who exercise regularly. But the researchers showed that simply increasing the amount of Gpld1 produced by the mouse liver could confer many of the same brain benefits as regular exercise.
In the study, the team found that replacing half of the blood plasma of old mice with a mixture of saline and albumin — where the albumin simply replaces protein that was lost when the original blood plasma was removed — has the same or stronger rejuvenation effects on the brain, liver and muscle than pairing with young mice or young blood exchange. Performing the same procedure on young mice had no detrimental effects on their health.
Diluting blood plasma rejuvenates tissue, reverses aging in mice: Plasma exchange could be the key to unlocking the body's regenerative capacities -- ScienceDaily
In the study, the team found that replacing half of the blood plasma of old mice with a mixture of saline and albumin -- where the albumin simply replaces protein that was lost when the original blood plasma was removed -- has the same or stronger rejuvenation effects on the brain, liver and muscle than pairing with young mice or young blood exchange. Performing the same procedure on young mice had no detrimental effects on their health.
Exercise rejuvenates quiescent skeletal muscle stem cells in old mice through restoration of Cyclin D1 | Nature Metabolism
Here, we show that exercise in the form of voluntary wheel running accelerates muscle repair in old mice and improves old MuSC function.
More than just a carnival trick: Researchers can guess your age based on your microbes -- ScienceDaily
Given a microbiome sample (skin, mouth or fecal swab), researchers have demonstrated they can now use machine learning to predict a person's chronological age, with a varying degree of accuracy. Skin samples provided the most accurate prediction, estimating correctly to within approximately 3.8 years, compared to 4.5 years with an oral sample and 11.5 years with a fecal sample. The types of microbes living in the oral cavity or within the gut of young people (age 18 to 30 years old) tended to be more diverse and abundant than in comparative microbiomes of older adults (age 60 years and older).[…]
Scientists bring personalized medicine to the biology of aging - STAT
“Of course the whole body ages,” said biologist Michael Snyder, who led the study. “But in a given individual, some systems age faster or slower than others. One person is a cardio-ager, another is a metabolic ager, another is an immune ager,” as shown by changes over time in nearly 100 key molecules that play a role in those systems. “There is quite a bit of difference in how individuals experience aging on a molecular level.”
Crucially, the molecular markers of aging do not necessarily cause clinical symptoms. The study’s “immune” agers had no immune dysfunction; “liver agers” did not have liver disease. Everyone was basically healthy.
If aging is truly personal, understanding an individual’s ageotype could lead to individualized, targeted intervention. “We think [ageotypes] can show what’s going off track the most so you can focus on that if you want to affect your aging,” Snyder said.
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor muscle function in adults aged 60+ -- ScienceDaily
The prevalence of muscle weakness was twice as high among older adults with vitamin D deficiency (40.4%) compared with vitamin D adequacy (21.6%).
Similarly, impaired 'muscle performance' was 3 times higher in older adults with vitamin D deficiency (25.2%) compared with vitamin D adequacy (7.9%).
Based on more complex statistical analysis, the study showed that vitamin D deficiency significantly increased the likelihood of impaired muscle strength and performance.
The study confirmed the associated benefits of physical activity. Older adults partaking in regular moderate physical activity had significantly lower likelihood of poor muscle strength and physical performance.
Microbiome may be involved in mechanisms related to muscle strength in older adults -- ScienceDaily
To gain insight into this population, the researchers compared bacteria from the gut microbiomes of 18 older adults with high-physical function and a favorable body composition (higher percentage of lean mass, lower percentage of fat mass) with 11 older adults with low-physical function and a less favorable body composition. The small study identified differences in the bacterial profiles between the two groups.
Similar bacterial differences were present when mice were colonized with fecal samples from the two human groups, and grip strength was increased in mice colonized with samples from the high-functioning older adults, suggesting a role for the gut microbiome in mechanisms related to muscle strength in older adults.
Specifically, when compared to the low-functioning older adult group, the researchers found higher levels of Prevotellaceae, Prevotella, Barnesiella, and Barnesiella intestinihominis -- all potentially good bacteria -- in the high-functioning older adults and in the mice that were colonized with fecal samples from the high-functioning older adults.
Furry friends ease depression, loneliness after spousal loss -- ScienceDaily
They found all individuals who lost their spouse experienced higher levels of depression. However, people without a pet experienced more significant increases in depressive symptoms and higher loneliness than those who had pets. In fact, those who had a pet and experienced the death or divorce of their spouse were no lonelier than older adults who didn't experience one of those events.
Is life after 75 worth living? This UPenn scholar doubts it - Big Think
"These people who live a vigorous life to 70, 80, 90 years of age — when I look at what those people 'do,' almost all of it is what I classify as play. It's not meaningful work. They're riding motorcycles; they're hiking. Which can all have value — don't get me wrong. But if it's the main thing in your life? Ummm, that's not probably a meaningful life."
He also suggested that our obsession with longevity is driving away attention from the health and well-being of children. "One of the statistics I like to point out is if you look at the federal budget, $7 goes to people over 65 for every dollar for people under 18," he says.
Is life after 75 worth living? This UPenn scholar doubts it - Big Think
Emanuel has declared he will refuse medical interventions, antibiotics, and vaccinations once he turns 75. The crux of his argument is that older Americans are living too long in a disabled and "diminished" state of life. He wants to make his friends and others think about how they want to live as they grow older, as he put it, "I want them to think of an alternative to succumbing to that slow constriction of activities and aspirations imperceptibly imposed by aging."
“How to Grow Old” by Bertrand Russell - Ben Yan
Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there there is a justification for this feeling. Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it -so at least it seems to me- is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river: small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue.
New doctors' DNA ages six times faster than normal in first year: Long work hours of intern year associated with accelerated shortening of telomere regions of chromosomes -- ScienceDaily
Published online in the journal Biological Psychiatry, the new study is the first to measure telomere length before and after individuals faced a common prolonged intense experience. It involved 250 interns from around the country who volunteered for the Intern Health Study, based at the University of Michigan, and a comparison group of college students from U-M.
"Research has implicated telomeres as an indicator of aging and disease risk, but these longitudinal findings advance the possibility that telomere length can serve as a biomarker that tracks effects of stress, and helps us understand how stress gets 'under the skin' and increases our risk for disease," says Srijan Sen, M.D., Ph.D., the U-M neuroscientist and psychiatrist who is the study's senior author and heads the Intern Health Study.
He adds, "It will be important to study how telomere changes play out in larger groups of medical trainees, and in other groups of people subjected to specific prolonged stresses such as military training, graduate studies in the sciences and law, working for startup companies, or pregnancy and the first months of parenting."
'Robopets' can benefit health and wellbeing of older care home residents -- ScienceDaily
Lead author Dr Rebecca Abbott, from the University of Exeter Medical School, said: "Although not every care home resident may choose to interact with robopets, for those who do, they appear to offer many benefits. Some of these are around stimulating conversations or triggering memories of their own pets or past experiences, and there is also the comfort of touching or interacting with the robopet itself. The joy of having something to care for was a strong finding across many of the studies."
Robopets are small animal-like robots which have the appearance and many of the behavioural characteristics of companion animals or pets. Five different robopets were used in the studies -- Necoro and Justocat (cats), Aibo (a dog), Cuddler (a bear) and Paro (a baby seal). Some of the studies were on older people's experiences of interacting with the robopets, while others sought to measure impact on factors such as agitation, loneliness and social interaction.
The robots that dementia caregivers want: Robots for joy, robots for sorrow -- ScienceDaily
Researchers found that caregivers wanted the robots to fulfill two major roles: support positive moments shared by caregivers and their loved ones; and lessen caregivers' emotional stress by taking on difficult tasks, such as answering repeated questions and restricting unhealthy food.
"Caregivers conceived of robots not only managing difficult aspects of caregiving -- but also for supporting joyful and fun activities," said Laurel Riek, a professor of computer science at UC San Diego, and the paper's senior author.
Spouses or adult children provide 75 percent of the care for people with dementia. That is equivalent to 15 million people in the United States alone, providing 18 billion hours of unpaid care per year with little support and few resources. Caregivers are also likely to overlook their own health and wellbeing, which can put both parties at risk.
Virtual reality could improve your balance, study finds -- ScienceDaily
"People with long-term dizziness sometimes rely a lot on their vision and do not use the very quick and effective balance system provided by sensory information from joints and muscles. This can intensify feelings of dizziness, which is very unpleasant. The new study shows a possible treatment method for these conditions," says Eva Ekvall Hansson, researcher and associate professor of physiotherapy at Lund University.
Twenty healthy women and men took part in the study, in which they watched a Virtual Reality (VR) simulation of a roller-coaster ride while standing on a platform which registered their postural stability. The researchers investigated how the participants' balance system was affected when visual information was disrupted by the experience of being in a VR environment which gave them a strong sensation of being in movement.
The study shows that the human balance system can very quickly cease to rely on vision and use other senses instead, such as sensory information from the feet, joints and muscles to increase postural stability. Differences also emerged in how men and women are affected by watching a VR video. More women had difficulty maintaining their balance in a VR environment and they generally needed more practice before they learnt to use their other senses to increase postural stability.
Researchers Identify Molecule With Anti-Aging Effects On Vascular System - News Hub -
In this study, the research team explores the link between calorie restriction (eating less or fasting) and delaying aging, which is unknown and has been poorly studied. The findings are published in the journal Molecular Cell.
The researchers identified an important, small molecule that is produced during fasting or calorie restriction conditions. The molecule, β-Hydroxybutyrate, is one type of a ketone body, or a water-soluble molecule that contains a ketone group and is produced by the liver from fatty acids during periods of low food intake, carbohydrate restrictive diets, starvation and prolonged intense exercise.
“We found this compound, β-Hydroxybutyrate, can delay vascular aging,” Zou said. “That’s actually providing a chemical link between calorie restriction and fasting and the anti-aging effect. This compound can delay vascular aging through endothelial cells, which line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. It can prevent one type of cell aging called senescence, or cellular aging.”
Senescent cells can no longer multiple and divide. The researchers found β-Hydroxybutyrate can promote cell division and prevent these cells from becoming old. Because this molecule is produced during calorie restriction or fasting, when people overeat or become obese this molecule is possibly suppressed, which would accelerate aging.
It's possible to reverse damage caused by aging cells: Researchers discover the ability to influence the impact of aging at a cellular level -- ScienceDaily
In addition, researchers found that a high fat diet, which causes a type of metabolic stress, or simply being old, enhances the physical dysfunction that comes from senescent cells.
"Previous research has shown that our immune system's ability to eliminate or deal with senescent cells is based 30 percent on genetics and 70 percent on environment," said Dr. Robbins, noting that what we eat and how often we exercise can affect senescence or aging of cells.
Conversely, the researchers determined that treatment with senolytic drugs, able to eliminate senescent cells, can reverse physical dysfunction and actually extend lifespan even when used in aged animal models.
"We saw greater activity, more endurance, and greater strength following use of senolytics," said Dr. Robbins.
When muscles weaken with age -- ScienceDaily
Working with our colleagues from the University of Aachen, we first systematically surveyed the changes taking place in the peripheral nerves of people aged between 65 and 79," Rudolf Martini describes his team's approach. During this, the researchers encountered an increased number of macrophages in the samples. Macrophages are cells of our body's immune system that engulf, digest and dispose microbes, foreign substances, cellular debris, aging cells etc. They set inflammatory responses in motion, help heal wounds and cleanse the tissue. Unfortunately, however, they also cause damage in some diseases.
To find out whether this also applies to age-related nerve degeneration, the scientists performed an experiment on mice. "For this purpose, we looked more closely at the nerves of 24-month-old mice which is an advanced age for mice," Rudolf Martini explains. It turned out that the age-related changes in the mice's peripheral nerves are very similar to those in humans. As in their human counterparts, the number of macrophages was increased in the mice. Also, the older animals had less strength than their younger siblings and their motor endplates, the synapses connecting nerves and muscle fibres, were also less intact.
