Brain Aging


Book Description

Recognition that aging is not the accumulation of disease, but rather comprises fundamental biological processes that are amenable to experimental study, is the basis for the recent growth of experimental biogerontology. As increasingly sophisticated studies provide greater understanding of what occurs in the aging brain and how these changes occur




Free Radicals in Exercise and Aging


Book Description

Explore the emerging field of free radical biology, exercise, and aging with this definitive reference. Free Radicals in Exercise and Agingaddresses the current debate regarding whether free radicals released during exercise accelerate the aging process. It explains how free radicals can serve as important regulators of aerobic processes, and it clarifies the importance of exercise in increasing the efficiency of the antioxidant and oxidative repair systems. Mounting research data indicate that free radicals are involved in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes. This book focuses on exercise-induced adaptation. In general, a person's ability to adapt to internal and external changes decreases during the aging process. However, by continually exposing the body to different challenges, regular exercise triggers an adaptation process that keeps the body and mind fit. Free Radicals in Exercise and Agingelucidates the role of free radical species in regulating this process. This text is also one of the first to provide an in-depth review of skeletal muscle oxidative stress and aging. This issue is pivotal because muscle serves such a critical role in mobility and normal life. Free Radicals in Exercise and Aging shares the most current understanding of how reactive oxygen species influence the biology of skeletal muscles. It explores some of the unique characteristics that skeletal muscle displays during aging, both in terms of free radical production and with regard to antioxidant systems. The implications of this research are far-reaching. Mutation of DNA is linked very closely to cancer, and if regular exercise improves the regulation of the antioxidant systems and the oxidative damage repair system, these mechanisms may be a very important tool against this deadly disease. This research-oriented text presents the latest information on the subject. It reviews and critiques current literature and provides critical information for exercise physiologists, sports medicine specialists, sport nutritionists, and gerontologists.




Physiological Basis of Aging and Geriatrics


Book Description

Extensively revised and updated to reflect the current state of knowledge in the study of aging, this Fourth Edition offers a complete profile of the aging process at all levels, from molecules and cells to demography and evolution. Written by international experts in current basic and clinical aging research, this text includes aspects of individual, comparative, and differential aging, and discussions of theories and mechanisms of aging. This invaluable reference illustrates how bodily systems, organs, and functions are affected with aging, describes how genetic and environmental factors influence age-related changes, and addresses some of the clinical consequences of these changes for health and longevity. Well illustrated, with numerous tables and graphs, this book presents up-to-date information from internationally renowned experts in various bio-medical fields.




Systems Biology of Free Radicals and Antioxidants


Book Description

The focus of this collection of illustrated reviews is to discuss the systems biology of free radicals and anti-oxidants. Free radical induced cellular damage in a variety of tissues and organs is reviewed, with detailed discussion of molecular and cellular mechanisms. The collection is aimed at those new to the field, as well as clinicians and scientists with long standing interests in free radical biology. A feature of this collection is that the material also brings insights into various diseases where free radicals are thought to play a role. There is extensive discussion of the success and limitations of the use of antioxidants in several clinical settings.




Plant Aging


Book Description

For many, the terms aging, maturation and senescence are synonymous and used interchangeably, but they should not be. Whereas senescence represents an endogenously controlled degenerative programme leading to plant or organ death, genetiC aging encompasses a wide array of passive degenerative genetiC processes driven primarily by exogenous factors (Leopold, 1975). Aging is therefore considered a consequence of genetiC lesions that accumulate over time, but by themselves do not necessarily cause death. These lesions are probably made more severe by the increase in size and complexity in trees and their attendant physiology. Thus while the withering of flower petals following pollination can be considered senescence, the loss of viability of stored seeds more clearly represents aging (Norden, 1988). The very recent book "Senescence and Aging in Plants" does not discuss trees, the most dominant group of plants on the earth. Yet both angiospermic and gymnospermic trees also undergo the above phenomena but less is known about them. Do woody plants senesce or do they just age? What is phase change? Is this synonymous with maturation? While it is now becoming recognized that there is no programmed senescence in trees, senescence of their parts, even in gymnosperms (e. g. , needles of temperate conifers las t an average of 3. 5 years), is common; but aging is a readily acknowledged phenomenon. In theory, at least, in the absence of any programmed senescence trees should -live forever, but in practice they do not.




Understanding the Process of Aging


Book Description

This innovative reference explores a wide selection of topics associated with aging, providing a solid understanding of the significance and molecular basis of the aging process and charting the course of future research in the area. Stresses the interplay of mitochondria, mitochondrial DNA, oxidants, and antioxidants! Featuring the research of over 55 experts in the area, Understanding the Process of Aging covers the functions of nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in mitochondria integrates several views on the role of mitochondria in the development of apoptosis gives a quantitative analysis of mutations of mitochondrial DNA during human aging highlights mitochondrial free radical production introduces new roles of ubiquinone in mitochondrial functions offers new antioxidant-based complementary therapeutic strategies details aspects of intact cells and whole organisms in health and disease and more! Featuring over 1800 references, tables, drawings, and photographs, Understanding the Process of Aging benefits nutritionists and dieticians, geriatricians, cell and molecular biologists, chemists and biochemists, pharmacologists, biotechnologists, neurologists, cardiologists, oncologists, dermatologists, and graduate and medical school students in these disciplines.




Energy Metabolism and Lifespan Determination


Book Description

Experts in the fields of energy metabolism, aging and oxidative stress provide an integrated view of how mechanisms involved in regulating energy metabolism are linked to fundamental processes of aging including cellular stress resistance and free radical production. During evolution signal transduction pathways and organ systems have been optimised for the efficient seeking, ingestion, storing and using of energy. These signalling pathways play prominent roles in lifespan determination with insulin and related signalling pathways being prime examples. The authors consider how lifespan and healthspan can be extended through knowledge of energy metabolism with the experimental model of dietary restriction being one example. The information in this volume of ACAG will foster novel approaches and experiments for further understanding the roles of energy metabolism in aging and disease.




Antioxidants in Sport Nutrition


Book Description

The use of antioxidants in sports is controversial due to existing evidence that they both support and hinder athletic performance. Antioxidants in Sport Nutrition covers antioxidant use in the athlete ́s basic nutrition and discusses the controversies surrounding the usefulness of antioxidant supplementation. The book also stresses how antioxidants may affect immunity, health, and exercise performance. The book contains scientifically based chapters explaining the basic mechanisms of exercise-induced oxidative damage. Also covered are methodological approaches to assess the effectiveness of antioxidant treatment. Biomarkers are discussed as a method to estimate the bioefficacy of dietary/supplemental antioxidants in sports. This book is useful for sport nutrition scientists, physicians, exercise physiologists, product developers, sport practitioners, coaches, top athletes, and recreational athletes. In it, they will find objective information and practical guidance.







Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine


Book Description

Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine has become a classic text in the field of free radical and antioxidant research. Now in its fifth edition, the book has been comprehensively rewritten and updated whilst maintaining the clarity of its predecessors. Two new chapters discuss 'in vivo' and 'dietary' antioxidants, the first emphasising the role of peroxiredoxins and integrated defence mechanisms which allow useful roles for ROS, and the second containing new information on the role of fruits, vegetables, and vitamins in health and disease. This new edition also contains expanded coverage of the mechanisms of oxidative damage to lipids, DNA, and proteins (and the repair of such damage), and the roles played by reactive species in signal transduction, cell survival, death, human reproduction, defence mechanisms of animals and plants against pathogens, and other important biological events. The methodologies available to measure reactive species and oxidative damage (and their potential pitfalls) have been fully updated, as have the topics of phagocyte ROS production, NADPH oxidase enzymes, and toxicology. There is a detailed and critical evaluation of the role of free radicals and other reactive species in human diseases, especially cancer, cardiovascular, chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. New aspects of ageing are discussed in the context of the free radical theory of ageing. This book is recommended as a comprehensive introduction to the field for students, educators, clinicians, and researchers. It will also be an invaluable companion to all those interested in the role of free radicals in the life and biomedical sciences.