Aging & Longevity

The decline of adult neurogenesis and neuronal function during aging underlies the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Conventional therapies, including neurotransmitter modulators and antibodies targeting pathogenic proteins, offer only symptomatic improvement. As the most abundant glial cells in the brain, astrocytes outnumber neurons nearly fivefold. However, their proliferative and transdifferentiation potential renders them ideal candidates for...

Mutations in the mitochondrial genome can cause maternally inherited diseases, cancer, and aging-related conditions. Recent technological progress now enables the creation and correction of mutations in the mitochondrial genome, but it remains relatively unknown how patients with primary mitochondrial disease can benefit from this technology. Here, we demonstrate the potential of the double-stranded DNA deaminase toxin A-derived cytosine base editor (DdCBE) to develop disease models and...

Reproductive aging is associated with declining fertility and increasing inflammation, though these events are not well understood. An exciting new study in PLOS Biology utilizes cutting-edge technologies to characterize the role of multinucleated giant cells in ovarian aging.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological data of populations living at moderate altitudes between 1,000 and 2,000 m suggest healthier aging when compared to people living in lower regions. Besides social determinants of health, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors, environmental conditions such as ambient temperature, air pollution and aeroallergens, solar radiation and in particular hypobaric hypoxia may modify the risk of disease development and mortality. The present study was aimed at (1) evaluating...

Extensive research indicates that cognitive interventions can lead to a general improvement in cognitive functioning throughout the lifespan. In this study, we evaluate the causal evidence supporting this relationship in healthy older adults and older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by means of an umbrella meta-analysis of meta-analyses. The meta-analytic studies were identified through systematic searches in electronic databases (CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus,...

BACKGROUND: Cognitive function declines with increasing age and maintaining high cognitive functioning especially at late life remains a challenging question to be addressed. Emerging evidence in the role of mushroom in promoting cognition has been produced from limited observational studies but there is a lack of definitive evidence on both longitudinal relationships from prospective cohort studies and clinical efficacy from clinical trials.

Many elderly listeners have difficulties with speech-in-noise perception, even if auditory thresholds in quiet are normal. The mechanisms underlying this compromised speech perception with age are still not understood. For identifying the physiological causes of these age-related speech perception difficulties, an appropriate animal model is needed enabling the use of invasive methods. In a comparative behavioral study, we used young-adult and quiet-aged Mongolian gerbils as well as young and...

CONCLUSION: The ferroptosis pathway, autophagy-animal pathway, apoptosis pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, and longevity-regulating pathway were identified as crucial pathways associated with ferroptosis in cerebral ischemic stroke. Bioinformatics analysis and RT-qPCR suggested that FTH1, SLC40A1, NRAS, CD82, and PTPN18 might serve as potential key targets underlying the antiferroptotic effects of acupuncture on ischemic stroke.

No abstract

CONCLUSION: Our complimentary word count and word co-occurrence language analyses of aging well construals revealed stark differences between YAs' and OAs' perceptions of aging well, which raise important questions about intergenerational exchanges and communications about aging more broadly. Further, we found that aging construals of OAs are useful for estimating their future outlook, an important aspect of resilience against cognitive decline and possible entry point for targeted precision...

CONCLUSION: These findings support that Whisper and otter.ai are valuable tools for language analysis in aging research and provide further evidence that automatic speech to text with state-of-the art AI tools is ready for psychological language research.

CONCLUSIONS: Evening PA could be advantageous in preventing frailty conversion among community-dwelling older adults. Maximizing the impact of PA may be effective against this public health concern, physical frailty.

CONCLUSION: Psychological variables capturing beliefs and behaviors regarding old age and aging have been shown to play a pivotal role in development in old age. The current study demonstrates that these variables influence an important aspect of future time perspective, namely, the subjectively expected time left to live. Examining psychological and behavioral predictors of SLE is relevant, as it broadens the understanding of which factors play a role in expanding or shrinking the perceived...

CONCLUSIONS: We found no consistent evidence linking ageism to biological aging status. Further research should investigate why; potentially, ageism has less time to become biologically embedded, compared to racism and sexism, which might be experienced throughout one's life, but measurement challenges could also be present.

BACKGROUND: Orthopedic diseases, including osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and age-related musculoskeletal disorders, significantly impact quality of life and are becoming increasingly prevalent with aging populations. A growing body of evidence highlights the role of cellular senescence in the pathogenesis of these conditions. Senescent cells (SCs), characterized by irreversible cell cycle arrest, accumulate in tissues over time, contributing to inflammation, tissue degeneration, and impaired...

CONCLUSION: Our findings elucidate the role of societal normative beliefs for older adults' behavior and offer insights into the discourse on the continued social participation of older adults.

Jingfang Granule (JFG), a traditional Chinese medicine preparation, is widely used in clinical practice. It has been shown to extend both lifespan and healthspan in the Caenorhabditis elegans model. However, the molecular mechanisms of its main constituents and their targets remain unclear. In this study, through network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experiments on C. elegans including lifespan assays and stress resistance assays, the bioactive compounds of JFG and their targets were...

Neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease, result in a substantial health problem for the elderly, marked by ongoing neuronal degeneration and a deterioration in mental faculties. These disorders are frequently linked to oxidative stress, problems with mitochondria, and persistent inflammation in the brain, which worsen neuronal damage. The neurohormone melatonin, primarily secreted by the pineal gland, has gained recognition as a...

Geroprotectors, a class of compounds that ameliorate molecular, cellular, or physiological aging-related alterations, have garnered significant attention in the quest to promote healthy aging and extend the human health span. Among these, Calorie Restriction Mimetics (CRMs) have emerged as promising candidates due to their potential to mimic the benefits of calorie restriction, a dietary approach involving reduced calorie intake without malnutrition. Prospective CRMs may include biguanides...

CONCLUSION: This study is the first to investigate cortical activity during eccentric lower limb contractions in older adults. The results suggest that eccentric contractions induce greater cortical activation compared to concentric, even in older adults who generally exhibit reduced cortical activity. These findings support the potential of eccentric as an effective intervention to improve motor function and muscle strength in older adults.