Cellular Senescence in Vascular Smooth Muscle Accelerates Medin Aggregation
Medin is one of a number of different amyloids that form in aging tissue, each a protein that can misfold in ways that encourage other molecules of the same protein to do the same, aggregating together to form solid deposits. Some amyloids are evidently toxic and disease-associated, while others, like medin, originally appeared more innocuous. It isn't harmless, however, just more subtle. Recent research suggested a pathological role for medin amyloid in Alzheimer's disease, in that it accelerates the aggregation of amyloid-β. Further, there is evidence for medin aggregation to contribute to cerebrovascular dysfunction. O...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 5, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 7th 2022
In conclusion, the national prevalence of dementia and MCI in 2016 found in this cross-sectional study was similar to that of other US-based studies.
Clearing Microglia Reverses Age-Related Disruption of Sleeping Patterns in Mice
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2022/11/clearing-microglia-reverses-age-related-disruption-of-sleeping-patterns-in-mice/
Microglia are innate immune cells of the central nervous system. They are analogous to macrophages in the rest of the body, but undertake additional duties relating to the function of neurons and in brain tissue. Microglia become overly active and inflamm...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 6, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Reviewing Approaches to Treating Transthyretin Amyloidosis
Transthyretin amyloidosis may be a primary component of the present limit on human longevity. Transthyretin is one of the few proteins in the human body that can misfold in ways that encourage other molecules of the same protein to misfold in the same way, joining together form solid aggregates that disrupt cell and tissue function. This is particularly an issue in the cardiovascular system, and while it is presently thought that transthyretin amyloidosis only contributes to a minority of fatal cardiovascular disease in younger old age, autopsies of supercentenarians suggested that it is the major cause of death in the old...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 3, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Prevention of Microgliosis Reduces Early Progression of Alzheimer's Disease in Mice
Microglia are innate immune cells of the brain, akin to macrophages elsewhere in the body, but with a larger portfolio of tasks, extending beyond defense against pathogens and aiding in tissue repair to include assisting in neural function and maintenance of synaptic networks. A sizable body of evidence points to increasing inflammatory activation of microglia as an important factor in the development of age-related neurodegeneration. Microglia react to signals, such as DNA debris from stressed and dying cells, or the secreted cytokines produced by senescent cells, that become more common with advancing age. When this infl...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 1, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, October 17th 2022
This study investigated whether multimorbidity is associated with incident dementia and whether associations vary by different clusters of disease and genetic risk for dementia. The study used data from the UK Biobank cohort, with baseline data collected between 2006 and 2010 and with up to 15 years of follow-up. Participants included women and men without dementia and aged at least 60 years at baseline. The presence of at least 2 long-term conditions from a preselected list of 42 conditions was used to define multimorbidity.
A total of 206,960 participants (mean age 64.1 years) were included in the final sample, of...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 16, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Cognitively Healthy Centenarians are Resistant to Age-Related Brain Pathology
The article here notes that researchers find cognitively healthy centenarians exhibit levels of protein aggregation and other brain lesions typical of people showing symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases. They are in some way more resistant, but why this is the case is a continuing research project. It is possible to identify specific gene variants and more youthful gene expression for some genes in cognitively healthy older individuals, but it is long trek from that data to an understanding of the mechanisms involved.
Researchers initially aimed to recruit 500 cognitively healthy centenarians. As of June 2021, 4...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 14, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
More On Depletion of Soluble Amyloid- β in Alzheimer's Disease
If slow amyloid-β aggregation over years is the cause of Alzheimer's disease, then how to explain the older individuals who have high levels of amyloid-β in the brain, but do not suffer from Alzheimer's disease? Further, how to explain the failure of amyloid-β clearance via immunotherapy in clinical trials? Amyloid-β is successfully cleared from the brain, but patient outcomes do not improve meaningfully. This line of thinking led to the hypothesis, with supporting evidence, that amyloid-β aggregation is pathological only because it depletes levels of soluble amyloid-β. It doesn't cause that issue to the same degree ...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 11, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Science Snippet: Lipids in the Limelight
This study could inform the advancement of new antibiotics.Developing new imaging technologies to track lipid droplet formation and breakdown in cancer cells. Understanding this phenomenon could shed light on why lipid droplets accumulate in these cells, which could aid in creating new therapies.
Learn about other scientific terms with the NIGMS glossary. (Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences)
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - July 27, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Cellular Processes COVID-19 Medicines Science-snippet Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, July 18th 2022
In conclusion, we show that PVS morphology in mice is variable and that the structure and function of pia suggests a previously unrecognized role in regulating CSF transport and amyloid clearance in aging and disease.
Reversing Ovarian Fibrosis in Mice
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2022/07/reversing-ovarian-fibrosis-in-mice/
Researchers here provide evidence for ovarian fibrosis to be an important mechanism in limiting the age at which female mammals can remain fertile. Interestingly, existing antifibrotic drugs can produce some reversal of this fibrosis, enough to restore ovulation in mice. Fibro...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 17, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Towards a Better Understanding of Pathological Modifications of Tau in the Aging Brain
Tau protein is involved in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. It is one of the few proteins in the body capable of becoming altered in ways that form harmful aggregates that disrupt cell function and lead to cell death. Given a much better understanding of the biochemistry by which tau protein becomes modified in ways that make it toxic, it might be possible to interfere in that modification process with small molecule drugs. This approach has worked for transthyretin amyloidosis, leading to drugs that significantly reduce the harmful aggregation of transthyretin by interfering in one specific step in the modification o...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 12, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 3rd 2022
In this study, we showed that the iPaD (inducing Plagl2 and anti-Dyrk1a) lentivirus substantially rejuvenated the proliferative and neurogenic potential of NSCs in the aged brain. Clonal analysis by a sparse labeling approach as well as transcriptome analysis indicated that iPaD can rejuvenate aged NSCs (19-21 mo of age) to a level comparable with those at 1 or 2 months of age and successfully improved cognition of aged mice.
Once rejuvenated and activated by iPaD, aged dormant NSCs can generate, on average, 4.9 neurons but very few astrocytes in 3-week tracing. Furthermore, these activated NSCs were maintained for ...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 2, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
A Look Back at 2021: Progress Towards the Treatment of Aging as a Medical Condition
Well, here we are again, at the end of another pandemic year, a year older and - hopefully - a year wiser and more knowledgeable. I said all that really needs to be said on the topic of COVID-19 as an age-related condition at the end of last year. We might hope that, given widespread vaccination, the pandemic will become a topic of diminishing importance as the year ahead progresses, even given the present round of variants, fears, and reintroduction of restrictions.
Advocacy for Aging Research
Have we finally made significant progress in convincing the world that aging is the cause of age-related disease, th...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 31, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Of Interest Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, December 20th 2021
In conclusion, the low dose, prolonged angiotensin II exposure is associated with the induction of senescence in kidneys and the promotion of an inflammatory microenvironment through both secreted factors and immune cells. Endothelial cells appear to be a major cell type impacted. The elimination of senescent cells in the INK-ATTAC transgenic model prevents these effects of angiotensin II and reveals a novel pathophysiologic mechanism amenable to targeting by senolytic drugs in development.
CYTOR Upregulation as a Path to Improved Muscle Function in Later Life
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2021/12/cytor-...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 19, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
It is Entirely Reasonable to Consider That There Is No Limit to Human Life Span
The author of this commentary is entirely too enthusiastic about mTOR inhibitors as a tool to slow the aging process, but here he is largely focused on a different question. He argues (a) the sensible point that limits to aging and longevity are entirely determined by medical technology, and (b) the more debatable point that old people do not receive sufficient application of present forms of medical technology, and this is life-limiting. How much of the observed compression of morbidity of recent decades, meaning that people are living more healthy, functional years without an increase in overall life expectancy, is the r...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 14, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 8th 2021
In conclusion, in less common and visible cardiovascular diseases, it is crucial to recognize substantial progress and achievement, given that penetration of such information into clinical practice and the patient community can be inconsistent. Diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and ATTR cardiac amyloidosis, once linked to a uniformly adverse prognosis, are now associated with the opportunity for patients to experience satisfactory quality of life and extended longevity.
VitaDAO, a Novel Approach to Crowdfunding Life Science Research
https://www.fightaging.org/archiv...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 7, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
