Though you cannot change your chronological age, biological aging can be managed. By doing this, it becomes possible to extend and improve health across an extended lifespan.
Scientists are seeking ways to extend life by preventing and slowing disease-related aging; now, however, they’re also exploring strategies that might reverse human aging.
Reprogramming T Cells
Researchers have developed an effective means of reprogramming cells within our bodies, reseting their molecular clock and making them look younger. Their discovery could allow us to slow or even reverse aging by increasing disease-fighting T cells within us.
Scientists used a combination of genes to rewind CD8+ T cells – the main T cell subset responsible for antigen-specific immune reactions – back into pluripotency, so they could begin their differentiation process again and become any type of tissue in the body, including kidney and skin cells, or mature T cells capable of fighting tumors. These genes comprised part of Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka’s suite of Yamanaka stem cell factors first discovered in 2006. Reprogrammed adult cells could then turn back into embryonic-like states from where differentiation starts over again – starting all over again! These four Yamanaka stem cell factors can revert adult cells back to pluripotency state where differentiation begins all over again! Reprogrammed adult cells can then transform back into embryonic states from where differentiation begins; mature T cells can then develop to fight tumors.
Reprogrammed CD8+ T cells produced more TNF-a and displayed enhanced polyfunctionality when compared with nonreprogrammed cells, while also showing lower levels of key metabolic regulators activated during T cell activation, such as MLST8 (which encodes for MST8 homolog required for activating the mTORC pathway), ESRRA, GSL1, and GSL2 (which code for glutaminases 1 and 2, which regulate T cell metabolism respectively), that activate during activation; homeostatic stimulation was more responsive as well; anabolic metabolism was reduced significantly as well.
Reprogramming can also be used to destroy senescent cells that accumulate as we age and contribute to age-related diseases, like Alzheimer’s. While medications exist that target these senescent cells directly, such as insulin shots for treatment of high cholesterol or medications to fight off infections caused by inflammation; by targeting individual disease-fighting T cells to attack these senescent cells instead, an easier and safer approach might exist for reducing disease burden among older adults while prolonging healthy, active lives.
Scientists are always on the lookout for new methods of treating age-related conditions so we can live longer and healthier lives. T cell reprogramming may provide one such solution that would allow us to slow biological aging.
Boosting Vitamin D
Vitamin D is most widely known for enhancing bone health, but it also has other important effects. According to researchers at Yale Medicine, getting enough of this nutrient can also slow accelerated aging by helping you feel younger on the inside. Scientists conducted epigenetic analysis on 1,600 participants and discovered that people with lower levels of Vitamin D had biological ages that were several years older than those who received adequate levels. They also observed younger-looking chromosomes among those who received adequate levels as well as more functional structures that organize DNA when they received more Vitamin D.
DO-HEALTH was a large randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers from five European countries involving 2,157 adults over 70 years of age, providing omega-3 supplements and either placebo or vitamin D supplementation as part of a two by two by two factorial design for three years. According to statistical models, combined omega-3 supplementation plus vitamin D reduced biological aging by three to four months over this time, with the greatest effects being seen among those receiving both supplements together along with regular physical activity (difference in pace of aging between placebo plus vitamin D plus omega 3 was -0.16 (95% CI -0.02 to -0.30).
Though these results are encouraging, there are a few restrictions. First of all, this study only lasted three years so it remains uncertain if their effects persist and lead to decreased frailty or other health benefits. Also, due to an omission by authors regarding blood levels of vitamin D measurements it cannot be established whether supplements actually increased body levels by how much.
Furthermore, as this study was observational and did not involve a placebo group, other factors may have had an impact on its results, such as participants changing their diet or adopting healthier eating practices. Furthermore, researchers did not account for seasonal change which may influence Vitamin D production; taking this factor into account could potentially increase its impact on biological aging further. Scientists believe incorporating such factors will produce even greater results of increasing Vitamin D.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Studies have revealed the relationship between eating healthily and diet and chronic diseases or mental health decline among older adults, but its causes remain largely unknown. One research paper suggests mTORC1 inhibition with low doses of rapamycin may extend healthy lifespan; this hypothesis needs further confirmation through clinical trials.
Before then, it is advisable to eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, nuts and legumes while limiting processed food and fatty meat consumption. Furthermore, it’s also essential to know your biological age; research has revealed that people of similar chronological ages vary widely in their biological age – those with younger health ages showing less signs of aging. Caloric restriction diets (FMD), ketogenic diets and time restricted feeding have all been shown to extend longevity in laboratory animals through evolutionary conserved signaling pathways interacting with signaling pathways interacting with evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways.
Staying Active
Maintaining physical and mental activity are the cornerstones of a healthy life, regardless of age. Studies demonstrate that even moderate exercise can slow and even reverse some degenerative effects associated with aging – this includes walking, swimming, cycling, jogging and doing yoga among many other options.
Exercise may help rejuvenate aged muscle fibers because it promotes epigenetic reprogramming in the nuclei of cells. This process involves switching off certain genes while activating others; this discovery led to four transcription factors being awarded a 2012 Noble prize prize award as they can turn specialized mature cells back into more flexible, youthful pluripotent stem cells.
Inverse reported that in one study, just one week of treatment with the drug (nicotinamide mononucleotide, or NMN) increased levels of these reprogramming factors and reversed biochemical indicators of muscle mitochondrial senescence in mice. If applied to humans, this research could potentially create a long-acting anti-aging drug capable of rejuvenating human bodies at their molecular core.
