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Healthy Aging (healthy + aging)
Selected AbstractsA Concept Analysis of Healthy AgingNURSING FORUM, Issue 2 2005Linda Hansen-Kyle RN, PhD(c) First page of article [source] Ten Dimensions of Health and Their Relationships with Overall Self-Reported Health and Survival in a Predominately Religiously Active Elderly Population: The Cache County Memory StudyJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2 2006Truls Østbye MD OBJECTIVES: To document the extent of healthy aging along 10 different dimensions in a population known for its longevity. DESIGN: A cohort study with baseline measures of overall self-reported health and health along 10 specific dimensions; analyses investigated the 10 dimensions as predictors of self-reported health and 10-year mortality. SETTING: Cache County, Utah, which is among the areas with the highest conditional life expectancy at age 65 in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Inhabitants of Cache County aged 65 and older (January 1, 1995). MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported overall health and 10 specific dimensions of healthy aging: independent living, vision, hearing, activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, absence of physical illness, cognition, healthy mood, social support and participation, and religious participation and spirituality. RESULTS: This elderly population was healthy overall. With few exceptions, 80% to 90% of persons aged 65 to 75 were healthy according to each measure used. Prevalence of excellent and good self-reported health decreased with age, to approximately 60% in those aged 85 and older. Even in the oldest old, the majority of respondents were independent in activities of daily living. Although vision, hearing, and mood were significant predictors of overall self-reported health in the final models, age, sex, and cognition were significant only in the final survival models. CONCLUSION: This population has a high prevalence of most factors representing healthy aging. The predictors of overall self-reported health are distinct from the predictors of survival in this age group and, being potentially modifiable, are amenable to clinical and public health efforts. [source] HRAS1 and LASS1 with APOE are associated with human longevity and healthy agingAGING CELL, Issue 5 2010S. Michal Jazwinski Summary The search for longevity-determining genes in human has largely neglected the operation of genetic interactions. We have identified a novel combination of common variants of three genes that has a marked association with human lifespan and healthy aging. Subjects were recruited and stratified according to their genetically inferred ethnic affiliation to account for population structure. Haplotype analysis was performed in three candidate genes, and the haplotype combinations were tested for association with exceptional longevity. An HRAS1 haplotype enhanced the effect of an APOE haplotype on exceptional survival, and a LASS1 haplotype further augmented its magnitude. These results were replicated in a second population. A profile of healthy aging was developed using a deficit accumulation index, which showed that this combination of gene variants is associated with healthy aging. The variation in LASS1 is functional, causing enhanced expression of the gene, and it contributes to healthy aging and greater survival in the tenth decade of life. Thus, rare gene variants need not be invoked to explain complex traits such as aging; instead rare congruence of common gene variants readily fulfills this role. The interaction between the three genes described here suggests new models for cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying exceptional survival and healthy aging that involve lipotoxicity. [source] Novel EGF pathway regulators modulate C. elegans healthspan and lifespan via EGF receptor, PLC-,, and IP3R activationAGING CELL, Issue 4 2010Hiroaki Iwasa Summary Improving health of the rapidly growing aging population is a critical medical, social, and economic goal. Identification of genes that modulate healthspan, the period of mid-life vigor that precedes significant functional decline, will be an essential part of the effort to design anti-aging therapies. Because locomotory decline in humans is a major contributor to frailty and loss of independence and because slowing of movement is a conserved feature of aging across phyla, we screened for genetic interventions that extend locomotory healthspan of Caenorhabditis elegans. From a group of 54 genes previously noted to encode secreted proteins similar in sequence to extracellular domains of insulin receptor, we identified two genes for which RNAi knockdown delayed age-associated locomotory decline, conferring a high performance in advanced age phenotype (Hpa). Unexpectedly, we found that hpa-1 and hpa-2 act through the EGF pathway, rather than the insulin signaling pathway, to control systemic healthspan benefits without detectable developmental consequences. Further analysis revealed a potent role of EGF signaling, acting via downstream phospholipase C-,plc-3 and inositol-3-phosphate receptor itr-1, to promote healthy aging associated with low lipofuscin levels, enhanced physical performance, and extended lifespan. This study identifies HPA-1 and HPA-2 as novel negative regulators of EGF signaling and constitutes the first report of EGF signaling as a major pathway for healthy aging. Our data raise the possibility that EGF family members should be investigated for similar activities in higher organisms. [source] Centenarians , a useful model for healthy aging?AGING CELL, Issue 3 2009A 29-year follow-up of hospitalizations among 40 000 Danes born in 190 Summary Centenarians surpass the current human life expectancy with about 20,25 years. However, whether centenarians represent healthy aging still remains an open question. Previous studies have been hampered by a number of methodological shortcomings such as a cross-sectional design and lack of an appropriate control group. In a longitudinal population-based cohort, it was examined whether the centenarian phenotype may be a useful model for healthy aging. The study was based on a complete follow up of 39 945 individuals alive in the Danish 1905 birth cohort on January 1, 1977 identified through the Danish Civil Registration System (DCRS). Data from the Danish Demographic Database and The Danish National Patient Register (in existence since 1977) were used. The 1905 cohort was followed up from 1977 through 2004 with respect to hospitalizations and number of hospital days. Survival status was available until December 2006. Danish centenarians from the 1905 cohort were hospitalized substantially less than their shorter-lived contemporaries at the same point in time during the years 1977 through 2004. For example, at age 71,74, the proportion of nonhospitalized centenarians was 80.5% compared with 68.4% among individuals who died in their early 80s. This trend was evident in both sexes. As a result of their lower hospitalization rates and length of stay in hospital compared with their contemporaries, who died at younger ages, Danish centenarians represent healthy agers. Centenarians constitute a useful study population in the search for fixed traits associated with exceptional longevity, such as genotype. [source] Neuronal protection by sirtuins in Alzheimer's diseaseJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2006Thimmappa S. Anekonda Abstract Silent information regulator 2, a member of NAD+ -dependent histone deacetylase in yeast, and its homologs in mice and humans, participate in numerous important cell functions, including cell protection and cell cycle regulation. The sirtuin family members are highly conserved evolutionarily, and are predicted to have a role in cell survival. The science of sirtuins is an emerging field and is expected to contribute significantly to the role of sirtuins in healthy aging in humans. The role of sirtuins in neuronal protection has been studied in lower organisms, such as yeast, worms, flies and rodents. Both yeast Sir2 and mammalian sirtuin proteins are up-regulated under calorie-restricted and resveratrol treatments. Increased sirtuin expression protects cells from various insults. Caloric restriction and antioxidant treatments have shown useful effects in mouse models of aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in limited human AD clinical trials. The role sirtuins may play in modifying and protecting neurons in patients with neurodegenerative diseases is still unknown. However, a recent report of Huntington's disease revealed that Sirtuin protects neurons in a Huntington's disease mouse model, suggesting that sirtuins may protect neurons in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD. In this review, we discuss the possible mechanisms of sirtuins involved in neuronal protection and the potential therapeutic value of sirtuins in healthy aging and AD. [source] The Aging Dilemma: Is Increasing Longevity Among People With Intellectual Disabilities Creating a New Population Challenge in the Asia-Pacific Region?JOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 2 2009Matthew P. Janicki Abstract The Macau Declaration on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific and the Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific provide a framework for defining the needs of the aging population in the Asia-Pacific region. It also served as a stimulus for planning and public commitment to addressing the needs of the region's elderly population, including the needs of each of the nation's adult and aging populations of persons with intellectual disabilities. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the diversity of cultural and economic interests often combines to define how services are provided to their aging populations and both how disabilities are perceived and how national policies reflect these interests in serving people with disabilities. Reports issued by the World Health Organization on improving longevity and promoting healthy aging among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the Tampa Scientific Conference on Aging and Intellectual Disabilities on defining health factors help provide the structure for both the consideration of the impact of aging on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and how national social and public welfare policies can be framed to respond to aging and lifelong disability. [source] Reactive Oxygen Species, Aging, and Antioxidative NutraceuticalsCOMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY, Issue 1 2004J. Lee ABSTRACT The important roles of reactive oxygen species in diseases related to aging and the necessity and benefits of antioxidative nutraceuticals in the prevention of diseases and promotion of healthy aging have been extensively reported in recent years. Oxygen is an essential component of living organisms. The generation of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, and singlet oxygen is inevitable in aerobic metabolism of the body. Reactive oxygen species cause lipid oxidation, protein oxidation, DNA strand break and base modification, and modulation of gene expression. In the past several years, unprecedented progress has been made in the recognition and understanding of roles of reactive oxygen species in many diseases. These include atherosclerosis, vasospasms, cancers, trauma, stroke, asthma, hyperoxia, arthritis, heart attack, age pigments, dermatitis, cataractogenesis, retinal damage, hepatitis, liver injury, and periodontis, which are age-related. The body protects itself from the potential damages of reactive oxygen species. Its first line of defense is superoxide dismutases, glutathione peroxidases, and catalase. Scientists have indicated that antioxidant nutraceuticals supplied from daily diets quench the reactive oxygen species or are required as cofactors for antioxidant enzymes. Nutraceuticals play significant roles in the prevention of a number of age-related diseases and are essential for healthy aging. Epidemiological studies also reported the relevance of antioxidative nutraceuticals to health issues and the prevention of age-related diseases. Health-conscious consumers have made antioxidative nutraceuticals the leading trend in the food industry worldwide in recent years. [source] |