New technologies allow scientists to better understand the aging process and how it really happens.
Many people feel that aging occurs in stages. After a stable period, suddenly, one day pains appear on the knees or a general feeling of wear.
“You get up in the morning and, suddenly, you feel old,” said Steve Hoffmann, a professor of computational biology at the Leibniz Institute about aging, in Jena, Germany. “That is more or less impression.”
Science has found evidence that this sensation could have a biological base. Through the analysis of age -related indicators, such as protein and DNA markers in the blood, some researchers have discovered that Aging in adulthood does not happen linearly, but at specific times in life.
How is non -linear aging?
For a long time, scientists suspected that aging could occur in bursts, but only in the last decade they have begun to measure it with molecular signals.
A study by Stanford University, published in 2023, analyzed molecular changes in the blood of 108 adults between 25 and 75 years. The results showed that Aging seemed to accelerate around 44 and 60 years.
In the first peak, the changes were related to the metabolism of fats, alcohol and muscle function. In the second, with the decrease in the immune system and muscle function.
“This first peak could explain why people have more difficulty processing alcohol from the age of 40 and why at 60 they are more likely to get sick,” said Michael Snyder, a genetic professor at Stanford and co -author of the study.
Another study in mice, co -written by Hoffmann, found sudden chemical modifications in the DNA in two stages: one between youth and the Middle Ages, and another between the Middle Ages and old age.
In 2019, another study that analyzed the blood plasma of more than 4,000 people identified significant leaps in the protein concentrations associated with aging in the fourth, seventh and eighth decades of life.
Are there different aging rhythms?
Some researchers argue that aging does not occur in short peaks, but in prolonged phases.
Steve Horvath, a pioneer in the development of epigenetic watches, said that his 2013 study showed that aging follows an accelerated curve in childhood and adolescence, but becomes more linear after the age of 20.
Other studies suggest that certain organs, such as the heart or brain, could age at different speeds.
Whether it occurs due to bursts or phases, it is not yet clear how these molecular changes really affect aging and age -related diseases.
However, these findings could help better understand phenomena such as slowing metabolism in medium age. They could also allow better health control, focusing on specific changes and conditions that affect each stage of life.
What follows for the science of aging?
These studies are promising, but preliminary, said Eric Verdin, president of the Buck Institute for Aging Research.
“These findings raise important questions: what organs are causing these changes? Do they vary from one person to another or between sexes? What role do life and external factors play? “he added.
There is more and more evidence that events such as pregnancy, stress, disease or even Covid-19 infection can accelerate biological aging.
Scientists hope to answer these questions with Longitudinal studies Follow the same people over time.
“If we want to confirm whether aging occurs in bursts or is a continuous process, we need to study biological changes in the same individuals during their lives,” said Allison Aiello, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University.
Luigi Ferrucci, scientific director of the National Institute on Aging, said that research is still in its early stages, but that understanding these processes could help people to live more and with better quality of life.
“Instead of starting to decline at 70, we could delay it until 75 and win five years of good health,” he concluded.