Aging & Longevity

Pulmonary fibrosis is a lethal disease associated with damaging insults to the lung and with organismal aging. The presence of short and dysfunctional telomeres has been placed at the origin of this disease in a percentage of both familial and sporadic cases. Recently, a mutation in the telomere-binding protein protection of telomeres 1 in humans (hPOT1), the hPOT1 L259S mutation, was found in families with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Here, we generated a Pot1a ^(L261S) knock-in mouse...

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Age and sex are primary risk factors for shoulder pain, yet the underlying neuromuscular adaptations in scapular control are poorly understood, partly due to methodological inconsistencies in prior research, particularly in load standardization. This study aimed to define age- and sex-related differences in scapular muscle excitation during a shoulder flexion task with a standardized relative load. Fifty-two healthy younger (18-39y) and older (60-74y) males and females performed shoulder flexion...

Initially anode-free sodium metal batteries offer a high energy density at lower costs than lithium-ion batteries, making them a promising alternative for portable electronics, transportation, and power grids. However, side reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface hinder their practical applications. Our study reveals that negative electrode stability is primarily influenced by the solvents in the cation's first solvation shell, whereas positive electrode stability is dictated by weakly...

Cellular senescence is a complex biological process that plays a pathophysiological role in aging and age-related diseases. The biological understanding of senescence at the cellular and tissue levels remains incomplete due to the lack of specific biomarkers as well as the relative rarity of senescent cells, their phenotypic heterogeneity and dynamic features. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of multiomic approaches for the characterization and biological understanding of cellular...

Aging occurs at different rates across individuals and physiological systems, but most epigenetic clocks provide a single age estimate, overlooking within-person variation. Here we developed systems-based DNA methylation clocks that measure aging in 11 distinct physiological systems-Heart, Lung, Kidney, Liver, Brain, Immune, Inflammatory, Blood, Musculoskeletal, Hormone and Metabolic-using data from a single blood draw. By integrating supervised and unsupervised machine learning with clinical...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms Have been linked to cognitive functioning. However, the impact of PTSD and depression on cognitive functioning, especially among middle-aged urban adults, is not well understood. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from 1434 participants from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study. We used multivariable adjusted linear regression and structural equation models (SM) to test the association between...

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been performed on multiple epigenetic clocks to understand the genetic underpinnings of epigenetic age acceleration (EAA). To explore ethnic differences and individual variability in Asian populations, we conducted a GWAS of EAA using multiple epigenetic clocks in the Korean population. Genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and methylation data were obtained from 1962 Korean individuals. Five epigenetic clocks (Hannum, DNAm PhenoAge,...

CONCLUSION: Older adult informal caregivers are a vulnerable subgroup at a higher risk of loneliness compared to non-caregivers. Although informal caregiving does not impact social networks, older adult informal caregivers experience loneliness, i.e., a perceived discrepancy between their actual and desired social relationships. Our study suggests the need for further examination of the underlying mechanisms between informal caregiving at older ages and loneliness, as well as a special focus on...

CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that shift work is associated with accelerated apparent brain aging, even after controlling for systematic model bias and demographic covariates. The observed reduction in BAG with extended shift work exposure may reflect adaptive or selective effects, emphasizing the need for longitudinal studies to clarify these mechanisms. This research highlights the importance of incorporating occupational exposures in neuroimaging and brain health investigations.

The aging brain undergoes complex neuroinflammatory changes that are increasingly recognized as contributing factors to the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Emerging research reveals that biological sex profoundly shapes these neuroinflammatory dynamics, resulting in distinct trajectories of immune function, glial activity, and neural vulnerability in males and females. This mini-review focuses on recent advances in understanding the interplay of hormonal, genetic, and...

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Osteoporotic fractures are one of the most common and consequential diseases of advanced ageing and many antifracture therapies are widely available but largely underused. This Seminar presents an updated approach to osteoporosis consultation, drawing upon published evidence and collaborative expert opinion to place the data in a pragmatic and useful context for clinicians. New evidence on osteoporosis screening recommendations, fracture-risk assessment, intervention decisions, nutrition-based...

Alzheimer's Disease (AD), the most common type of dementia, is increasing rapidly in prevalence, while Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), the most frequent psychiatric condition, continues to pose significant global healthcare challenges. Recent hypotheses suggest that AD and MDD might be interrelated, potentially sharing common pathophysiological mechanisms. One possible central link is the Transforming Growth Factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) pathway. Reduced TGF-β1 levels, a cytokine involved in...

Brain aging is accompanied by progressive cognitive decline and increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases, with adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) playing a pivotal role in maintaining cognitive resilience. Selenium, an essential trace element, exerts significant neuroprotective and neurogenic effects predominantly through its incorporation into selenoproteins, which regulate oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and synaptic plasticity. This review synthesizes recent advances delineating...

Osteoporosis is driven by skeletal aging and increases the risk of fragility fractures. Skeletal aging is influenced by epigenetic mechanisms; however, the link to the epigenetic clocks, that is, the suggested biomarkers of biological aging intensively studied within aging research, remains largely unexplored. We investigated the association of eight epigenetic clocks-Horvath, IEAA, Hannum, EEAA, PhenoAge, GrimAge, DunedinPoAm, DunedinPACE-and methylation-based telomere length (mTL) measured at...

Adult resident stem cells are capable of regenerating tissues that manifest signs of "rejuvenation" in flatworms and mice of older ages. These findings suggest potentially conserved regulatory mechanisms of adult resident stem cells from worms to mammals. Regenerative capacities are more limited in specific tissues and stem cell types of larger mammals. Understanding and harnessing the rejuvenating properties of resident adult stem cells in flatworms and mice could have broad therapeutic...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor dysfunction and non-motor symptoms affecting cognition, mood and autonomic function. Both genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures such as pesticides (e.g., paraquat, rotenone), heavy metals (e.g., manganese, lead), tobacco smoke, and caffeine have been implicated in PD pathogenesis. Recent studies highlight the role of epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation (e.g., SNCA, PARK2), histone...

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Obesity is linked to an increased risk of various lung disorders, yet its role in disease progression remains poorly understood. We have utilized multiomics approaches together with functional assays to explore the effect of obesity on the lung. Obesity induced matrisome remodeling and structural alterations in the elastic fiber network, exhibiting solubility shifts that overlapped with those seen in the aging lung. In addition, protease inhibitor levels were reduced in lung tissue and...