Modulation of the Process of Aging in Human Organism: Recent Advances in Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract

Aging is a complex biological process. Main factors that interplay in the aging process include free radicals and oxidation, insulin and insulin growth factors, sirtuins, mTOR, microbiome, lack of micronutrients, and declining proteasome activity which lead to cellular damage. Damaged cells are being replaced by somatic stem cells which proliferate to generate new cells. For each cell replication the telomeres of the related stem cells become shorter and this is the basic factor that modulates aging. Telomere length shortens with age and leads to senescence. Shorter telomeres are associated with increased incidence of aging related diseases and shorter lifespan. The percentage of short telomeres and rate of telomere shortening predicts longevity in mammals. Measurement of single telomeres through Q-FISH is the only reliable method to evaluate single telomere length and percentage of short telomeres. Repeated measurements at a distance of 6 months or a year can reveal the rate of change of the short telomeres, and response of patients to treatments, lifestyle, diet, supplementation and exercise modifications. A natural product telomerase activator TA-65, an astragalus extract, has been found to lengthen telomere in humans. By experimenting with different combinations of cycloastragenol (astragalus extract active molecule) we've able to increase telomerase activation in relation to the control cells. Citation: Tsoukalas D., Fragkiadaki P., Sarandi E., Tsatsakis A. Modulation of the process of aging in human organism: recent advances in biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment.