Reversing the Aging Process

The Curious case of Benjamin  Button was  a fantasy story written  by F. Scott Fitzgerald  in 1922.  The protagonist  born in 1860 as a ripe old  man of 70 years,  grows younger day by day  and eventually ceases to exist.  The theme  was later adapted to a film with Brad Pitt and also a musical.  This story was perhaps the first to  fantasise   reverse aging and differentiate between chronological age(CA) and biological age (BA),  though not so explicitly.   

Courtesy:wkipedia 

Roughly  50 years  later,  in 1969 British physician Alex Comfort championed  the argument  for  BA.   Though he didn't  believe in reverse aging,  Comfort was convinced  that aging could be slowed down or modified considerably.  Because  CA just counts the calendar years from  birth  while BA is a measure of how well  body's cells, tissues, and organs function.  Naturally  a host of agents including and not limited to   physical, emotional, environmental, emotional, life-style based  etc. can  influence BA.  These influencers leave their mark on the  DNA as tiny methyl tags and   an  estimation of  the methyl tags  yields a direct measure of the BA.   Prof Steve Horvath's    Epigenetic Clock, an algorithm  estimates BA  with an error margin of about 2.77 years.  This  mathematical process has found universal applicability.  (Please see:Science Delights: How old are you ?). 

 Elizabeth Blackburn received Nobel Prize in Physology/Medicine in 2009 for the discovery of telomeres the protective caps on the tips of chromosomes. With  chronological aging  these caps get shortened.     Blackburn  and her team   provided solid  scientific proof linking psychological and chronic stress directly to  accelerated cellular aging.  In a comparative study,   the team    found that  high-stress groups  had  shorter telomeres and registered lower levels of telomerase the enzyme that repairs the caps.  Also  depending on the severity of the trauma high stress groups  registered  9 to 17  years of   cellular aging  more than  the low-stress groups. 

  

A  question that  pops up immediately is : if the stress is removed/ released, can the  BA  be reversed?    The answer is yes and there are ample proofs. It has been  shown lately  that while acute physiological stressors like traumatic surgical procedures, debilitating diseases,  can rapidly elevate biological age,  a reversal  to baseline is registered within  days to months of  recovery.  Likewise   psychosocial traumas  such as  job loss, low socioeconomic status, loss of near and dear ones etc.  can also lead to temporary   aging  but  reverses when conditions improve.   In  this context  Professor Jesse Poganik of  Harvard Medical School and his team recently  made a remarkable observation.  That  when organs are transplanted    irrespective of the donor's age, the transplanted organ  quickly attains the recipient's age.  That  is  an older heart  becomes biologically younger in a  a younger body, while a younger heart  ages faster inside an older body.   In essence  biological aging is  dynamic,  reversible/ modifiable though not to the extent envisaged by Fitzgerald. 

The quest for products and processes to reverse/rejuvenate  aged/damaged cells has already begun.  Biotechnology companies   Altos Labs,   Life Biosciences, NewLimit. Retro Bio  are some of the pioneers in this field.    Currently the very first  age reversal and cellular reprogramming therapy ER-100 is cleared for human clinical trials.    ER-100  designed   to treat age related vision problems developed by Life Biosciences.   Altos Labs website says: " Our mission is to restore cell health and resilience through cell rejuvenation  to reverse disease, injury and the disabilities that can occur throughout life" 

TAILPIECE:  

Both  ageing and aging  are correct and accepted.   Ageing is the preferred form  in British and Australian English whereas Americans and Canadians vote for  Aging. The rest are free to choose either. 

REFERENCES:

1. Epigenetic Clocks: Beyond Biological Age, Using the Past to Predict the Present and Future

2. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress

3. Aging vs. biological age: Conceptual considerations for age reversal claims

4. Molecular pathways linking chronic psychological stress to accelerated aging: mechanisms and interventions

5. Biological age is increased by stress and restored upon recovery

6.. Old hearts age backwards: transplanted organs adjust to host’s biological age

7. Transplanted hearts may take on the age of their new bodies

8. Human trials exploring anti-aging medicines