All articles tagged with #gerontology
Dr. Stephanie Rogers says the healthiest older adults—those in their 70s, 80s and 90s—avoid getting too comfortable and instead regularly introduce small, manageable stresses to physical, cognitive and social activities to keep the body adapting, improving balance and happiness as we age.
A Brown University-led analysis of more than 500,000 Medicare beneficiaries found that older adults who received the Shingrix shingles vaccine after entering skilled nursing facilities had about 24% fewer dementia diagnoses over four years compared with those unvaccinated, though the study cannot prove causation and residual differences between groups may influence results.
Researchers propose a two-stage aging framework in which damage accumulated early in life (infections, injuries, mutations) persists beneath the surface and, as aging progresses, age-related genetic activity and senescence unleash it, raising the risk of diseases like cancer and arthritis. Dormant insults (such as latent viruses or past injuries) may reactivate as immune function wanes, offering a unified view from evolutionary biology on why aging is the strongest risk factor for chronic illness and guiding future prevention efforts.
A trial with adults 75+ in Milan found that behaving as if they were younger (in a 1989-era setting) improved strength, balance, gait, and self-rated youth. While results are preliminary and under peer review, the findings support a mind–body link in aging and suggest that expectations and cultural narratives can influence physical aging.
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and BGI Research have discovered that immunoglobulins play a dual role in the aging process, potentially reshaping our understanding of aging. By creating high-precision spatial transcriptomic maps of nine organs in mice, the study identified immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a key driver of aging, which accumulates in tissues and induces aging effects. The research suggests IgG levels could serve as biomarkers for aging and introduces an intervention using antisense oligonucleotides to reduce IgG and delay aging.
Scientists propose a new theory of aging called selective destruction theory (SDT), which suggests that aging is not solely tied to damage accumulation. The theory proposes that neighboring cells in multicellular organisms are in constant competition, and aging can occur through positive selection independent of energetic costs. The researchers used agent-based modeling to demonstrate how slow cells inducing epigenetic changes in faster cells can slow down metabolism and reduce unnecessary cell death, preventing overactivity disorders. This theory offers a new perspective in gerontology research and challenges the dominant disposable soma theory.