Green Apples and Green Tomatoes May Help Prevent Age-Related Muscle Loss

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Iowa states that there may be a correlation between eating foods that contain ursolic acid or tomatidine and preventing muscle loss due to aging. Ursolic acid is found in green apples while tomatidine can be found in green tomatoes. The study states that the protein ATF4 is responsible for muscle aging. ATF4 is described as a “transcription factor" that influences the expression of certain genes in skeletal muscle”. The expression of these certain genes results in a decrease in strength, mass, and production of muscle protein. 

The study was conducted over a two month period using elderly mice. Half of the mice were given diets that contained the natural compounds, ursolic acid and tomatidine. While the other half of the mice were not given either of the natural compounds. After two months, researchers found out that the mice who had ursolic acid and tomatidine incorporated into their diets had almost a 10% increase in muscle mass and a 30% increase in muscle strength. These levels seen in the elderly mice  just about matched the levels seen in young adult mice. Researchers concluded that ursolic acid and tomatidine are natural compounds capable of deactivating a group of genes that are normally activated by the protein ATF4. The group of researchers then engineered mice that did not contain the ATF4 protein in their skeletal muscle. The researchers found that muscles in the mice that did not contain ATF4 were resistant to any age-related muscle loss.

The researchers stated that they have come together with a biotech company to further look into the idea of adding ursolic acid and tomatidine to various foods or creating supplements containing either of these natural compounds.

I was really surprised by the results that the researchers came across after adding urosolic acid or tomatidine to the diets of the mice. It is interesting to see that these natural compounds have the ability to resist muscle loss and even increase muscle mass and muscle strength. It will also be interesting to see if these same affects will be seen in humans as well.  

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Did You Cause Your Parents’ Gray Hair, Or is Genetics to Blame?

The answer is actually believed to be an interesting mixture of both. Gray hair is due to a loss of pigmentation. Hair pigments are composed of melanocytes, which are responsible for implanting melanin into the keratin-containing cells of our hair. A plausible explanation for gray hair could be due to deterioration of the melanocyte cells, resulting in less melanin in the hair proteins. Also, environmental factors such as stress and shock can increase graying hair, though this concept is still not completely understood.

But why do single gray hairs appear in the start of the graying process? Due to the fact that each hair follicle grows independently, individuals tend to exhibit single strands of gray hair before the entire head turns to gray.

Recently, a team of researchers in Europe discovered that catalase, an enzyme involved in the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide, is responsible for causing vitiligo. This genetic disorder is characterized by patches of skin that lack pigment. Because gray hair also results from loss of pigment, researchers believe the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide may be a reason for graying hair. The cell only produces a small amount of the chemical, but this can create a build up over time. The researchers believe that these elevated levels of hydrogen peroxide block the synthesis of melanin. Knowing the process behind gray hair puts scientists one step closer to identifying the relationship that stress plays as well. Regardless if scientists find a correlation between stress levels and the graying process, its ultimately believed that genetics are the primary determining factor.

An understanding of the mechanisms behind gray hair is not just interesting, but has the potential to uncover the secrets behind aging on a molecular perspective. Perhaps the device responsible for destroying hair pigment cells could aid in destroying the cells responsible for cancer, leading to more effective treatment options for melanoma in particular.

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The Fountain of Youth

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Mayo Clinic, and other institutions recently identified a new class of drugs that slow the aging process.  During the study, the scientists targeted senescent cells in mice.  The scientists were challenged with identifying and targeting the senescent cells without damaging surrounding cells.  Through transcript analysis, the researchers discovered that senescent cells, like cancer cells, have an increased ability to resist apoptosis.  As a result, the researchers decided to use dasatinib and quercetin to facilitate their research.  Cell culture testing showed that while dasatinib was effective in eliminating senescent human fat cell progenitors, quercetin was effective in eliminating senescent human endothelial cells.  The scientists concluded that a combination of both drugs would be most effective in targeting and eliminating senescent cells.

When testing how the drugs affected health and aging in mice, the research team observed improved cardiovascular function among old mice after a single dose of the drugs.  The team also observed that after a single dose, mice that had been exposed to radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer exhibited an increased exercise capacity.  Periodic dosages of the drugs delayed age-related symptoms, spine degeneration, and osteoporosis in mice who exhibited accelerated aging.  The research team concluded that more testing must be performed before the combination of drugs can be used in humans.

I think the research is fascinating and has the potential to allow people to live healthier for a longer period of time.  Many people would find this to be the new fountain of youth.

Cells Show Signs of Faster Aging After Depression

     A study has shown an association between shorter telomeres and depression.  Researchers have reported that the length of telomeres of people who have experienced depression are significantly shorter than those who have not. Dutch researchers compared telomeres of over 2400 people with and without depression.  Telomeres act like the plastic tips that are found at the ends of shoelaces. They cap the ends of chromosomes to protect the cell's DNA from damage. Telomeres get shorter each time a cell divides, so they are useful markers for aging.

     People who have had depression have telomeres that are about 83-84 base pairs of DNA shorter.  Everyone, on average, loses 14-20 base pairs of DNA on telomeres a year. This difference is equivalent to about four to six years of advanced aging.  Other factors that effect DNA damage, such as cigarette smoking and heavy drinking, were also taken into account.  Results remained the same even after these factors were considered.  This research is significant due to the large study group used. The study, however, only showed an association between depression and telomere length but did not show anything in regards to cause and effect linkage.  It will be interesting to find out the actual cause-effect relationship.  If the shortening of the telomere can be reversed it could possibly be useful in improving the health of individuals depending on its role within the relationship.

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Methylome Modifications Offer New Measure Of Our 'Biological' Age

Researchers at the University of California have been able to describe markers and a model that quantify how aging occurs at the level of genes and molecules. Identifying these markers have been challenging for researchers before because they have looked at the telomeres-the repeating nucleotide sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes and which shorten with age. However, they have found that other factors like stress can affect them. Kang Zang, MD,PhD, professor of ophthalmology and human genetics at the Shiley Eye Center and director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine, focussed on DNA methylation, a process in which a methyl group is added or removed from the cytosine molecule in DNA to promote or suppress gene activity and expression. Zang and her colleagues found that an individual's "methylome" - the entire set of human methylation markers and changes across a whole genome - predictably varies over time, providing a way to determine a person's actual biological age from just a blood sample. She stated that the methylome provides a measure of biological age - how quickly or slowly a person is experiencing the passage of time. That information has potentially huge medical import. "For example, you could serially profile patients to compare therapies, to see if a treatment is making people healthier and 'younger.' You could screen compounds to see if they retard the aging process at the tissue or cellular level." 

Trey Ideker, PhD, a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Medical Genetics in the UC San Diego School of Medicine and professor of bioengineering in the Jacobs School of Engineering stated that cancer cells age differently than their surrounding normal cells. The findings, according to the study authors, have broad practical implications. Most immediately, they could be used in forensics to determine a person's age based only upon a blood or tissue sample.  He also stated that assessing an individual's methylome state could improve preventive medicine by identifying lifestyle changes that might slow molecular aging. He noted, however, that much more research remains to be done.

Genes May Hold the Key to Aging Skin

In a recent article published by US News, discusses how DNA may play a factor in the way our skin changes as we age. A professor at the Duke School of Medicine says that smoking and sun exposure impact how our skin changes but more importantly our gene have an even greater influential factor.

A recent experiment showed that genes change with our diet. At Duke University, pregnant mice were fed diets that lacked folic acid, which changed their gene for hair color in the offspring and the generations to follow. Researchers concluded that genes can be turned on and off based on what we eat. Dermatologists are currently researching which types of diets are beneficial to our genes and for our skin to stay looking younger.



 

Identical Twins Reveal Mechanisms Behind Aging

In an article in Science Daily, a recent study by researchers of Uppsala University compared DNA of monozygotic twins of different ages to discover that their DNA segments were changed and even lost in the older twin.  There results may explain why our immune system is impaired with age.  These changes in direction, duplication, or loss of the essential piece of DNA seem to correlate with age.  As many as 3.5 percent of healthy individuals older than 60 years carry such large genetic alterations. Out of the cell types in blood only white blood cells contain DNA. The researchers believe that the increased number of cells with DNA alterations among elderly can have a role in the effectiveness of the immune system. If the genetic alterations lead to an increased growth of the cells that have acquired them, these cells will increase in number in relation to other white blood cells. The consequence might be a reduced diversity among the white blood cells and thereby an impaired immune system.  

In society aging represents wisdom but also the deterioration of the physical body.  With age there seems to be a greater deterioration of DNA, if somehow we can prevent or decrease the rate of deterioration maybe an older individual may not have to be so physically frail.

Could Hydrogen Sulfide Hold The Key To A Long Life?

According to science daily,Could Hydrogen Sulfide Hold The Key To A Long Life? Studies done at Washington University in St. Louis shows "In an effort to understand the mechanisms by which hydrogen sulfide induces hibernation in mice, the researchers turned to the tiny nematode, a workhorse of laboratory science because its biology is similar in many respects that of humans. For example, like humans, nematodes have a central nervous system and the ability to reproduce. The worms also are ideally suited for studying life span, because they normally live for only two to three weeks."

 

C. elegans. Hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, the chemical that gives rotten eggs their sulfurous stench has now been shown to significantly increase life span and heat tolerance in the nematode worm, or C. elegans. (Credit: Washington University in St. Louis)

This research was performed by Mark Roth, Ph.D., a member of the Center's Basic Sciences Division, and Dana Miller, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in Roth's lab.

The researchers found, to their surprise, that nematodes that were raised in a carefully controlled atmosphere with low concentrations of H2S (50 parts per million in room air) did not hibernate. Instead, their metabolism and reproductive activity remained normal, their life span increased and they became more tolerant to heat than untreated worms.

The H2S-exposed worms lived eight times longer than untreated worms when moved from normal room air (22 C or 70 F) to a high-temperature environment (35 degrees Celsius, or 95 F). Roth and colleagues replicated these results in 15 independent experiments.

 

Asexual reproduction in marine animals and aging

A new article in Medical News Today discusses why marine animals may help to shed light on the aging process. Many marine animals reproduce asexually and have exceptionally good health. Many of these animals have active and larger amounts of the enzyme telomerase, which has been linked to the aging process. Mice lacking the enzyme have been shown to age more quickly as opposed to mice with larger amounts of the enzyme. Some marine life, such as sea squirts, rejuvenate themselves by activating telomerase. Helen Nilsson Sköld at the University of Gothenburg is studying the aging and reproductive processes of sea squirts and starfish because their genes are closely related to those of humans.

A major concern with marine life mentioned above is that because asexual production is utilized genetic diversity is limited, and with changes to the environment such as global warming concern is cultivated for the lives of asexually reproducing marine life.