Aging & Longevity

The segregation of processes into cortical layers is a convergent feature in animal evolution. However, how changes in the cortical layer architecture interact with sensory system function and dysfunction remains unclear. Here we conducted functional and structural layer-specific in vivo 7T magnetic resonance imaging of the primary somatosensory cortex in two cohorts of healthy younger and older adults. Input layer IV is enlarged and more myelinated in older adults and is associated with...

Cellular senescence is a major contributor to aging-related degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), but much less is known about the key cell types and pathways driving senescence mechanisms in the brain. We hypothesized that dysregulated cholesterol metabolism is central to cellular senescence in AD. We analyzed single-cell RNA-seq data from the ROSMAP and SEA-AD cohorts to uncover cell type-specific senescence pathologies. In ROSMAP snRNA-seq data (982,384 nuclei from...

INTRODUCTION: The shift toward earlier detection in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum underscores the need for more sensitive cognitive outcome assessments (COAs). Traditional COAs may lack precision in capturing cognitive dysfunction during preclinical stages. The Face-Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME), a cross-modal task that integrates verbal and non-verbal memory, offers enhanced sensitivity and has shown associations with amyloid-β burden across the AD continuum, even in...

Background: Diabetes mellitus is linked to progressive cognitive decline and motor impairments, especially among the aging population, highlighting the importance of early detection through reliable neuronal biomarkers. Proteins such as neurofilament light chain (NFL), neurogranin (Ng), and visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1) have emerged as indicators of neurodegeneration and associated behavioral changes. This study examined the effects of combined endurance and resistance exercise, along with...

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Regardless of sexual orientation, receiving care at home was the most preferred option, followed by moving to an assisted living facility. In terms of the type of home care, professional home care and a mix of formal and informal care were the most preferred options. Surprisingly, informal care was preferred by only 53.3% of people. Our results revealed that preferences for care settings (eg, own home, nursing home) and preferences for type of care (eg, informal...

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Enhanced CRF and muscle strength could offset the risk of premature health span termination associated with accelerated biological aging. Our findings suggest that biological aging rates should be considered in personalized fitness interventions to optimize health span. Public health strategies should prioritize cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness to mitigate aging-related health risks.

The placebo effect, or the positive effects observed after an inert treatment which result from patients' expectations for the therapy, is well documented in human medicine. However, in veterinary medicine, where owner's expectations serve as a proxy for their pets, it remains underexplored, particularly for elderly dogs with cognitive decline. To address this gap, we examined 21 dogs (mean age: 12.85 years, SD: 1.46) from a placebo group in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and compared their...

Anthropogenic climate change is driving summer heat toward more humid conditions, accompanied by more frequent day-night compound heat extremes (high temperatures during both day and night). As the fast-warming and aging continent, Europe faces escalating heat-related health risks. Here, we projected future heat-related mortality in Europe using a distributed lag nonlinear model that incorporates humid heat and compound heat extremes, strengthened by a health risk-based definition of extreme...

Enigmatic dinucleoside tetraphosphates, known as 'alarmones' (Np(4)Ns), have recently been shown to function in bacteria as precursors to Np(4) caps on transcripts, likely influencing RNA longevity and cellular adaptation to stress. In proteobacteria, ApaH is the predominant enzyme that hydrolyzes Np(4)Ns and decaps Np(4)-capped RNAs to initiate their 5'-end-dependent degradation. Here we conducted a biochemical and structural study to uncover the catalytic mechanism of Escherichia coli ApaH, a...

While it is well-documented that plasma oxytocin (OXT) levels decline with age, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the physiological mechanisms contributing to this age-related decrease in plasma OXT and the possible use of OXT supplementation on improving age-related decline of neural function. Comparing young (9 weeks) and aged (> 45 weeks) mice, aged mice showed reduced plasma OXT levels, an increase in the inflammation marker hs-CRP, and decreased...

Biochar application offers significant potential to enhance food security and mitigate climate change. However, most evidence stems from short-term field experiments (≤3 y), leaving uncertainty about the long-term sustainability of these benefits, especially with annual biochar additions to soils. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed a global dataset from 438 studies (3,229 observations) and found that long-term annual biochar application (≥4 y) not only sustains but often enhances its...

To delay social and healthcare utilisation among the ageing population, there is an increasing focus on the role of health-promoting lifestyle adopted at an individual and/or community level. Longevity is generally viewed as the ultimate outcome of health, although a high life expectancy does not necessarily go together with health and/or a health-promoting lifestyle. The potential coherence between longevity, health and lifestyle may vary in different cultural, political, social and economic...

The transcriptional complex Mondo/Max-like, MML-1/MXL-2, acts as a convergent transcriptional regulatory output of multiple longevity pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans. These transcription factors coordinate nutrient sensing with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism across the evolutionary spectrum. While most studies have focused on the downstream outputs, little is known about the upstream inputs that regulate these transcription factors in a live organism. Here, we found that knockdown of...

Evidence connecting skin aging to functional decline and systemic aging biomarkers is lacking. This study investigated how skin-aging biomechanics were associated with changes in intrinsic capacity (IC), a marker of healthy aging. We also explored their links with biological aging clocks (epigenetic and inflammatory clocks) and potential moderating effects on the skin-IC relationship. Baseline skin elasticity and viscoelasticity were measured in 441 INSPIRE-T participants aged 20 to 93 (59.9%...

CONCLUSION: In this study, we showed for the first time in the literature that the HRR value calculated from preoperative blood values is a key predictor for in-hospital MAE. In these patients, the HRR value can be used as a preoperative risk biomarker.

Using 100 technical replicate samples from two adult buccal cohorts, we compared technical methylation variability and signal strength between the Infinium MethylationEPIC v2.0 array and the Twist Human Methylome Panel across 753,648 shared CpGs. Twist methylation sequencing showed skewed methylation distributions and fewer highly correlated CpGs than MethylationEPIC arrays. Variance analysis revealed a skew toward higher signal strength in MethylationEPIC datasets, with a subset of CpGs showing...

BACKGROUND: Progressive Resistance Training (PRT) and adequate dietary protein are crucial for preventing and managing sarcopenia and frailty in older adults. To date, the optimal intensity of PRT and the added value of dietary protein for enhancing muscle mass, strength, and physical performance in frail older adults remain unclear. This randomised controlled trial aims to determine the efficacy of various PRT intensities and adequate dietary protein intake in improving muscle mass, strength...

Cognitive aging, a pivotal domain at the intersection of neuroscience and psychology, exhibits a strong association with neurodegenerative disorders; however, its comprehensive underlying mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. This review aims to provide a thorough synthesis of recent advancements in the investigation of cognitive aging in the brain, highlighting multidimensional assessment techniques, neurobiological foundations, molecular regulatory pathways, systemic changes,...

Both aging and systemic inflammation are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This review summarizes the interrelationship of aging and inflammation-known as inflammaging-and the consequences for cardiovascular health. We discuss mechanisms including epigenetic modification, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, and gut dysbiosis, many of which are themselves interrelated. Increasing understanding of inflammaging provides an array of biomarkers, some of which are now...

(250 words) Many models of aging assume that processes such as cellular senescence or epigenetic alteration occur under sterile conditions. However, humans sustain infection with viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasite pathogens across the course of a lifetime, many of which are capable of long-term persistence in host tissue and nerves. These pathogens-especially members of the human virome like herpesviruses, as well as intracellular bacteria and parasites-express proteins and metabolites...