I used to shy away from the topic of aging. Is there anything we can do about the inevitable?
But lately, I've been digging into a new wave of longevity research that makes it an exciting time for us all as we age.
After all, we all age at different rates. Super old people may have better genes, but research shows that aging healthily depends on our habits and habits: from what we eat to how we move our bodies to who we are. Everything from what you spend time with is extremely important.
Now, the next frontier is to target the fundamental biology of aging and come up with new interventions to slow aging.
Many scientists are optimistic that we are on the verge of a breakthrough. It not only helps us live longer, but more importantly, it extends the years we live in good health.
This is the goal of the researchers. Human Longevity Laboratory at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. They are recruiting study participants so they can test what interventions can slow the rate of aging. For this reason, I decided to devote myself fully to science.
Welcome to Aging: A Visit to the Longevity Laboratory
When I arrived on a late winter morning, the first step was a simple blood draw. The institute is located on his light-filled 21st floor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, overlooking Lake Michigan. It felt more like a spa than a doctor's office. I never expected that scientists would be able to glean such a vast range of data and insights from a battery of tests.
Over the course of four hours, they performed more than 20 assessments. At first, it felt like an annual physical exam. They checked my blood pressure, weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol.
NPR's Alison Aubrey measures body composition inside BodPod. Several other tests, conducted at the Longevity Institute led by Dr. Douglas Vaughan, are used to estimate biological age.
Jane Greenhalgh/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Jane Greenhalgh/NPR
NPR's Alison Aubrey measures body composition inside BodPod. Several other tests, conducted at the Longevity Institute led by Dr. Douglas Vaughan, are used to estimate biological age.
Jane Greenhalgh/NPR
But then the test got even more interesting. Inside a small exam room, a medical assistant unhinged an exam table. bod pod, a submersible-like capsule. The machine assessed my body composition and determined the ratio of fat mass, including muscle, to lean mass. Muscle strength is an important indicator of healthy aging and helps prevent frailty and falls.
Next, to test their olfactory function, they were asked to sniff and identify a variety of unique odors, ranging from leather to chocolate. Loss of the sense of smell can result in: Early signs of illness and cognitive decline. They scanned my retina and took digital images of the inside of my eye. This also helps in detecting diseases.And I took a memory and cognitive function test called mocha. Thankfully, everyone was healthy.
I then underwent a number of cardiovascular health tests.they measured my size endothelial function, Allows blood to flow smoothly through the body. They checked my heart rate variability and pulse wave velocity. This is an indicator of the stiffness of your arteries. Electrodes were attached to my chest for an electrocardiogram.
Halfway through, I got a little nervous and my mind raced. If.
Of all the tests they ran, the most interesting was: grim age test. This test predicts that biological Year. This measures whether your DNA age is younger or older than your chronological age (chronological age). Does it conjure up images of the Grim Reaper? Yes, that's the idea. This test can estimate how quickly or slowly you are aging.
To find out, researchers are using techniques such as: DNA methylation, This is a measure of changes in our DNA. Basically, as we age, we produce more of a compound called . methyl group It attaches to parts of our DNA molecules and can turn genes on or off. The researchers showed that the higher the proportion of DNA that is methylated at a particular location, the faster a person's biological age.According to published research, this A reliable way to predict lifespan and healthspan.
Can I change my biological age?
Who wouldn't want to know that they're aging faster than everyone else? But now comes the exciting part. Our biological age may be malleable. It is hoped that lifestyle changes can slow down the rate of aging. Anti-aging drugs and other interventions may be in the future.
Dr. Douglas Vaughn and Dr. John Wilkins of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Potosnack Longevity Institute
Alison Aubrey/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Alison Aubrey/NPR
Dr. Douglas Vaughn and Dr. John Wilkins of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Potosnack Longevity Institute
Alison Aubrey/NPR
For researchers, the GrimAge test is more than just a way to estimate DNA age. This is a tool to study whether interventions can change that.
“This is the great ray of optimism that comes through all of this, the possibility that we can slow aging and extend people's healthy lives,” he says. Douglas Vaughn, Director of the Longevity Research Institute. Healthy life expectancy is the number of years we can live in good health. “It can change very quickly in experimental models, and it probably can change in humans,” he says.
For example, smoking has a very strong effect on methylation. 'Smoking causes methylation in tens of thousands of locations,' researchers explain. Stephen Horvathwas developed by epigenetic clock Used as part of the GrimAge test. Obese people also show higher methylation at certain sites. “Conversely, if you eat vegetables, stay lean, and exercise, you slow down methylation aging,” he explains.
Of course, we've known for a long time that smoking and eating irregularly are bad for you. But researchers can now test specific interventions to see if they can move the needle.
Vaughn's deep interest in aging began when he identified a distinct genetic variation in an Amish community in Indiana. People with this mutation are protected from diabetes and have a healthier cardiovascular system than those without. When Dr. Vaughn engineered mice in his lab to have only 50% of his levels of the protein associated with this mutation, their lifespans increased almost fourfold. “This was a great moment,” he says.
He tells current medical students that in their careers they will be prescribing interventions that slow biological aging in patients.
“We don't know exactly what it will be. It could be a drug. It could be a lifestyle intervention. For all I know, it could be gene editing,” Vaughn said. To tell. “But there may be ways to slow this process and extend people's healthy lives.”
Democratizing aging
People who live in Chicago's upscale neighborhoods where the Human Longevity Lab is located can expect to live much longer and healthier lives than those who live just a few miles away. Dr. Vaughan wants to help close this gap.
“What worries me is that the life expectancy of the neighborhood we're in right now is 92 years, while the life expectancy of poor people on the south side of Chicago is 55 years,” he says. Amazing difference over 30 years. (You can check your life expectancy based on your postal code) here. )
Many factors contribute to this difference in life expectancy. poverty, housing, stress And all crimes can shorten healthy life expectancy.
Vaughn and his collaborators are enrolling people of a wide range of ages, ethnicities, regions, and socioeconomic statuses to see what works to slow biological aging for everyone.
“There are a lot of people who are treated poorly when it comes to aging,” Vaughan says. Their goal is to find affordable, evidence-based interventions that benefit everyone, regardless of socio-economic status.
For example, if you are interested in stress research, Vaughan said that may be “part of the reason why life expectancy varies by region in Chicago.” To study this, he measured people's biological age at baseline, had them try a stress reduction program, and was able to test them again to see if the results changed.
Vaughn is also interested in studying people with chronic HIV infection, who tend to age at an accelerated rate.Charitable donations from Chicago families with common interests helped launch a research institute. Vaughan's team is looking at a variety of interventions to test whether they can slow aging in this population.
“It could be weight trainingit could be intermittent fasting, It could be dietary manipulation or it could be the medications that are currently available. Anti-aging effect Vaughan uses the diabetes drug metformin as an example.
Longevity and healthspan research is attracting a lot of funding and attention from: hevolution foundationprovides grants and early-stage investments. Altos Research InstituteA biotechnology company founded by Dr. Rick Klausnerresearching ways to reprogram or rejuvenate cells.
Dozens of groups have announced their intention to compete for the $101 million prize. X-PRIZE Global Competition We focus on treatments that support longevity and health, from new drugs and supplements to devices and the repurposing of old medicines for new uses.
“Teams need to be at the starting line, and we will set up a framework for teams to prove treatment efficacy,” XPRIZE said. jamie justiceis also a researcher at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Embracing aging science
Fortunately, my GrimAge score came back younger than my actual age. Although there were some surprises. I discovered that my body composition was not optimal. As it turns out, I need to gain more lean muscle mass. This is common as we age, especially in women.
If you have muscle mass, don't use it, you'll lose it. After the age of 30 or 35, muscle begins to gradually decrease. And after the age of 65, this loss accelerates. So it's never too early to start building reserves. My goal this year is to build muscle through strength training and an optimal diet. And also to reduce stress.
My experience in longevity research motivated me to start a new project. How to grow as you get older. We will have more articles on healthy aging interventions coming soon.
share the secrets of aging
As part of this project, we hope you'll share your tips for healthy aging with us. What habits and lifestyle hacks do you adopt to thrive as you get older? Share your thoughts using this form or email us at [email protected].
