Exercise versus the Hallmarks of Aging

The paper I'll point out today walks through the ways in which exercise is known to beneficially affect the Hallmarks of Aging. The Hallmarks are a list of the significant causes of aging that I disagree with about half of. The SENS catalog of root causes of aging, first published earnestly in the literature back in 2002, isn't cited anywhere near as much as the much later Hallmarks of Aging - which owes a great deal to its predecessor while failing to mention it in any way. There is some overlap between the two, but many of the Hallmarks are not causes of aging, but rather manifestations of aging, meaning secondary and later consequences of underlying molecular damage. This question of whether not any specific manifestation of aging is or is not a root cause is important. The strategy adopted in the development of therapies to treat aging matters. Addressing root causes is far more effective than addressing downstream consequences. Near all medical technology employed to date to treat age-related diseases fails to touch on the root causes of aging, however, and this is why these therapies are only marginally effective at best. They modestly slow progression, or modestly ease suffering, but they cannot meaningfully turn back any aspect of the progression of aging. We can continue along that road, or we can choose to attempt a better strategy. Exercise is beneficial, and the degree to which it is beneficial is fairly well defined. Knowing something about the mole...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs