Ageing (British English) or aging (American English) is the accumulation of changes in a person over time. Ageing in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time, while others decline. Reaction time, for example, may slow with age, while knowledge of world events and wisdom may expand. Research shows that even late in life, potential exists for physical, mental, and social growth and development.] Ageing is an important part of all human societies reflecting the biological changes that occur, but also reflecting cultural and societal conventions. Roughly 100,000 people worldwide die each day of age-related causes.
In a new study, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere, describe markers and a model that quantify how aging occurs at the level of genes and molecules, providing not just a more precise way to determine how old someone is, but also perhaps anticipate or treat ailments and diseases that come with the passage of time.
The findings are published in the November 21 online issue of the journal Molecular Cell.
“It’s well known that people age at different rates,” said Kang Zhang, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and human genetics at the Shiley Eye Center and director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine, both at UC San Diego. “Some people in their 70s look like they’re in their 50s, while others in their 50s look like they’re in their 70s.”
However, identifying markers and precisely quantifying the actual rate of aging in individuals has been challenging. For example, researchers have looked at telomeres – repeating nucleotide sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes and which shorten with age – but have found that other factors like stress can affect them as well.
“It’s a very robust way of predicting aging,” said Zhang, one that was subsequently validated on a second sampling of several hundred blood samples from another cohort of human individuals.
The scientists 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.
“It’s the majority of the methylome that accurately predicts age, not just a few key genes,” said co-senior author 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. “The methylation state decays over time along the entire genome. You look in the body, into the cells, of young people and methylation occurs very distinctly in some spots and not in others. It’s very structured. Over time, though, methylation sites get fuzzier; the boundaries blur.”
More profoundly, said Zhang, 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.”
“The next step is to look to see whether methylation can predict specific health factors, and whether this kind of molecular diagnosis is better than existing clinical or physical markers. We think it’s very promising,” Ideker said.
Tips to controlling the aging process:
1. Give up smoking
2. Moderate alcohol consumption
3. Healthy diet, includes:
a. Fruits and veges
b. Reduce red meats
c. Avoid heavy, spicy, greasy foods
d. Eat fish and chicken
4. Exercise regularly – 15-20 minutes each day
5. Get 8 hours of sleep
6. Manage stress
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