The Membrane Hypothesis of Aging offers the most comprehensive, multidisciplinary description of the cell maturation and aging process. The membrane hypothesis of aging (MHA) described in this book is based on the actual multidisciplinary knowledge of cell morphology, physiology, and biochemistry. The solid basis of known facts explains the destructive, progressive, intrinsic, and universal character of the aging process. The book interprets other aging theories, including free radical theory of aging, dysdifferentiation hypothesis of aging and cancer, and the accumulation theories. It presents important issues for future research. The book also outlines the possibilities of an efficient, preventive, anti-aging drug design, and presents the first promising results of such research activity.
Recognition that aging is not the accumulation of disease, but rather comprises fundamental biological processes that are amenable to experimental study, is the basis for the recent growth of experimental biogerontology. As increasingly sophisticated studies provide greater understanding of what occurs in the aging brain and how these changes occur
More than 7 billion people inhabit the earth and all of them are subject to aging. This book is aimed at persons interested in a molecular explanation of how our cells age. Human Longevity: Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Bioenergetics, Molecular Biology, and Evolution is built on the proposition that we age as our mitochondria age. It suggests a revised vers
Americans are living longer, and the elder population is growing larger. To meet the ongoing need for quality information on elder health, the Encyclopedia of Aging and Public Health combines multiple perspectives to offer readers a more accurate and complete picture of the aging process. The book takes a biopsychosocial approach to the complexities of its subject. In-depth introductory chapters include coverage on a historical and demographic overview of aging in America, a guide to biological changes accompanying aging, an analysis of the diversity of the U.S. elder population, legal issues commonly affecting older adults, and the ethics of using cognitively impaired elders in research. From there, over 425 entries cover the gamut of topics, trends, diseases, and phenomena: -Specific populations, including ethnic minorities, custodial grandparents, and centenarians -Core medical conditions associated with aging, from cardiac and pulmonary diseases to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s -Mental and emotional disorders -Drugs/vitamins/alternative medicine -Disorders of the eyes, feet, and skin -Insomnia and sleep disorders; malnutrition and eating disorders -Sexual and gender-related concerns -And a broad array of social and political issues, including access to care, abuse/neglect, veterans’ affairs, and assisted suicide Entries on not-quite-elders’ concerns (e.g., midlife crisis, menopause) are featured as well. And all chapters and entries include references and resource lists. The Encyclopedia has been developed for maximum utility to clinicians, social workers, researchers, and public health professionals working with older adults. Its multidisciplinary coverage and scope of topics make this volume an invaluable reference for academic and public libraries.
Possible new breakthroughs in understanding the aging mind that can be used to benefit older people are now emerging from research. This volume identifies the key scientific advances and the opportunities they bring. For example, science has learned that among older adults who do not suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, cognitive decline may depend less on loss of brain cells than on changes in the health of neurons and neural networks. Research on the processes that maintain neural health shows promise of revealing new ways to promote cognitive functioning in older people. Research is also showing how cognitive functioning depends on the conjunction of biology and culture. The ways older people adapt to changes in their nervous systems, and perhaps the changes themselves, are shaped by past life experiences, present living situations, changing motives, cultural expectations, and emerging technology, as well as by their physical health status and sensory-motor capabilities. Improved understanding of how physical and contextual factors interact can help explain why some cognitive functions are impaired in aging while others are spared and why cognitive capability is impaired in some older adults and spared in others. On the basis of these exciting findings, the report makes specific recommends that the U.S. government support three major new initiatives as the next steps for research.
This volume covers the major threads in the molecular genetics of aging, including genes that regulate aging, causes of aging, evolutionary theories of aging, and the relationship between diet and aging. Among specific topics covered are calorie restriction, mitochondria, sirtuins, telomeres, stem cells, and cancer.
This innovative and comprehensive reference book provides the most up-to-date information pertaining to the translational research field of oxidative stress and aging. The book focuses on understanding the molecular basis of oxidative stress and its associated age-related diseases with the goal being the development of new and novel methods in treating the human aging processes. The book charts the course of this new and rapidly emerging field of Oxidative Stress Diagnostics and Therapeutics that will have a significant impact on the future economics, science and practice of medicine. Over 100 of the leading experts in this field whose specialty includes biogerontology, geriatric medicine, free radical chemistry and biology, oncology, cardiology, neurobiology, dermatology, pharmacology, nutrition, and molecular medicine, have contributed information to this book. This reference book is an essential reading material to a broad range of individuals including researchers, physicians, corporate industry leaders, graduate and medical school students, as well as the many health conscious individuals who wish to know more about the emerging field of oxidative stress and aging with an emphasis on diagnostics and intervention.
Why organisms age and why sexual reproduction exists are major unsolved problems in biology. This book provides an integrated explanation of aging and sex based on current knowledge of DNA damage and repair. - Discusses the universality of the problem of DNA damage - Describes aging as a consequence of accumulated DNA damage - Considers meiosis as an adaptation for DNA repair - Discusses mating in eukaryotes as an adaptation for masking mutation
