302 Applying theories of ageing Flashcards
What is successful ageing?
Ageing in a way that gives you the most years of independence before you die
The opposite of accelerated ageing when you live with debilitating diseases for many years
How does chronic inflammation impact ageing?
It contributes to chronic diseases
What is programmed ageing compared to non-programmed ageing?
Programmed: a sequential switching on and off of certain genes - follows a biological timetable
Non-programmed: damage related
What are the 9 hallmarks of damage-related ageing?
Genomic instability
Telomore attrition
Epigenetic alterations
Loss of proteostasis
Deregulated nutrient sensing
Mitochondrial dysfunction
Cellular senescence
Stem cell exhaustion
Altered intracellular communication
What is the disposable Soma Theory?
States that organisms age due to an evolutionary trade-off between growth, reproduction, and DNA repair maintenance
What is Antagonistic pleiotropy?
Genes with varying phenotypes, giving advantage when needed in youth and deleterious effect in later life
So we are healthy in youth but it’s expected there will be disease with age
What diseases does the theory of stem cell exhaustion explain?
Anaemia
Osteoporosis
Decreased fracture repair
Decreased repair of muscles
Decreased intestinal function
What is the only proven factor that reduces ageing?
A Mediterranean diet
What is Werner’s syndrome?
Onset in teens and death before 50
Somatic DNA damage causing premature ageing
What is Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome?
A sporadic autosomal dominant mutation
Onset in first 2 years of life and causes premature ageing
Don’t reach reproductive age so can’t be passed on
