Aging & Longevity

Age-related retinal degeneration, such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, are major causes of blindness in modern society. Recent studies suggest that dysbiosis and intraocular translocation of bacteria from the blood circulation are critically involved in retinal degeneration. We hypothesise that the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) cells can protect the neuroretina from blood-borne pathogens by producing antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The antimicrobial activity may...

Wound healing in old mice is characterized by disturbed tissue homeostasis, manifested by delayed immune cell infiltration and reduced growth factor secretion, leading to a delayed onset and prolonged duration of the inflammatory phase. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an important regulator of tissue homeostasis and cell migration and is also considered to be subject to aging processes, which may contribute to observable aging phenomena. Therefore, stimulating the aged ECS could represent a...

CONCLUSIONS: Probable sarcopenia, indicated by low HGS, was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment in older men, with risk consistent across BMI strata, including men living with probable sarcopenic obesity. Our findings have clinical relevance, suggesting that phenotypes comprising low muscle strength, in the presence of excess adiposity must not be overlooked and appropriate interventions explored to attenuate physical perturbations which could carry significance towards...

The combination of an increasing life expectancy and an increasing risk of fractures in the aging population collides with the still inadequate primary and secondary fracture prevention in Europe. Osteoporotic fractures have a major impact not only on morbidity, quality of life and mortality but also on healthcare costs. Therefore, an improvement of fracture prevention is warranted. Osteoanabolic drugs are particularly beneficial in patients with very high fracture risk and are recommended by...

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The CRPS is a scientifically robust tool to assess care risk perceptions in LTCFs. By identifying caregivers' risk awareness gaps, it supports targeted interventions and policy reforms for standardized safety audits to enhance dementia care quality and safety.

As the global population ages, multimorbidity has become a critical public health issue. We analyzed 332,012 adults from the UK Biobank (2006-2022) to investigate the association between biological age-measured by the Klemera-Doubal method (KDM-BA) and phenotypic age (PhenoAge)-and a new comorbidity model encompassing physical, psychological, and cognitive disorders, with overall mortality outcomes over a median follow-up of 13.6 years. Logistic regression models examined the association between...

Malvidin-3-galactoside (M3G), an anthocyanin derived from blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), is recognized for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, Drosophila melanogaster was treated with M3G at concentrations of 1, 10, and 100 µM, while control groups received an identical diet without M3G supplementation. Treatment with M3G extended the lifespan of male flies by as much as 5% (p < 0.05). However, in females, certain concentrations of M3G resulted in reduced...

The growing population of childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) experiences a large burden of comorbidities, including a markedly increased risk of diabetes mellitus. Among CCSs, prediabetes and diabetes are important risk factors for subsequent cardiovascular disease, which is a leading cause of premature death in this patient population. The mechanisms underlying their development are multifactorial, and may differ from those in the general population. Emerging evidence from preclinical and...

CONCLUSIONS: This multidimensional approach may enable earlier identification of individuals at risk for functional decline and inform the development of targeted preventive or therapeutic interventions to promote independence and healthy aging.

In both humans and mice, the adrenal gland is a sexually dimorphic organ, but the extent of this diversity throughout development remains unclear. Here, we analyzed the mouse adrenal gland transcriptome at postnatal days 0, 7, 15, 21, 28, 35, and 49 to uncover its transcriptomic trajectory. Sex-dependent differences, indicated by the number of differentially expressed genes, gradually increase over time. Two Y-linked genes are consistently expressed in male adrenal glands, suggesting that...

The genetic basis of naturally occurring variation in organismal senescence and lifespan remains largely unknown. We quantified genome-wide gene expression levels of young and 3-week-old flies of the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel and performed a systems genetics analysis integrating genomic, transcriptomic, and organismal phenotype variation. Aging had widespread but small effects on nearly the entire transcriptome, which were dependent on the genetic background. Although the co-expression...

Medial ganglionic eminence-derived inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) pallial interneurons (MGE-pINs) are essential regulators of cortical circuits, and their dysfunction is associated with neurological disorders. We developed human MGE-pINs from pluripotent stem cells for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. Here, we analyzed xenografted MGE-pINs from human pluripotent stem cells (hMGE-pINs) over the lifespan of host mice in healthy and epileptic environments using single-nuclei...

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Social networks, social activities, and social support function as central and bridging roles within the multilayer health ecology model, linking socioeconomic and behavioral factors in MCR. These findings underscore the importance of social relationships as culturally sensitive and modifiable targets for multilevel interventions from a mechanistic perspective, offering a theoretical foundation for practices and policies aimed at slowing MCR progression and...

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: A social learning theory-based training program can effectively enhance nursing assistants' pressure injury prevention and management competence; however, visual identification skill retention requires reinforcement. This scalable, theory-driven model addresses global workforce training gaps in long-term care, offering actionable strategies to reduce pressure injury incidence and improve care quality for aging populations.

DNA repair, an evolutionarily conserved mechanism essential for restoring genetic homeostasis, has been implicated in aging and longevity by multiple lines of evidence. However, due to the challenges in obtaining human research materials, studies on the interplay between DNA repair and aging rely primarily on laboratory animal models, whose regulatory mechanisms may not fully mirror those in humans. Strikingly, the rate of aging varies by nearly an order of magnitude across humans, ranging from...

Aging is driven by cellular senescence and chronic inflammation, largely mediated by the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). SASP factors promote inflammaging, impair tissue homeostasis, and contribute to age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Current anti-aging strategies focus on senolytics or SASP inhibitors, yet these approaches have limitations. We discuss therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and selective apheresis, as interventions...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and debilitating joint disorder, with its pathogenesis significantly influenced by factors such as aging and obesity. A critical aspect of OA development is the senescence of chondrocytes, which is characterized by irreversible cell cycle arrest and the secretion of pro-inflammatory molecules, collectively known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Senescent chondrocytes compromise the maintenance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and...

CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that NUSN4 levels detected in the blood could serve as a potential biomarker for ovarian aging. This provides new insights into the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in reproductive age-related traits and may inform future targeted interventions to slow ovarian aging.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes severe respiratory disease in infants and the elderly. However, natural infection fails to induce durable immune protection, and existing mRNA vaccines for older adults exhibit limited long-term efficacy. We developed an antigen engineering strategy inserting ESCRT/ALIX-binding region (EABR) into truncated RSV prefusion F (PreF) cytoplasmic tails to form enveloped virus-like particles (eVLPs). In murine models, PreF-EABR mRNA vaccines elicited higher,...

CONCLUSION: This study highlights the important impact of physical activity and body shape management on sleep disorders in older CMM patients.