Week 1 - Cellular Mechanisms to Aging

Question 1

8 key health attributes

Answer 1

• vision
• hearing
• speech
• mobility
• dexterity
• feelings
• cognition
• pain

Question 2

2 strategies to prevent functional decline

Answer 2

1. primary prevention
2. secondary prevention

Question 3

Primary prevention of functional decline

Answer 3

• delay onset, reduce magnitude and/or prevent age-related decline of function
• greatest potential to extend healthspan, especially when prevention is applied over the life span

Question 4

Secondary prevention of functional decline

Answer 4

• strategies to improve function in individuals that are already experiencing some decline in function
• goal is to prevent further decline, delay, or prevent onset of chronic disease or even improve function

Question 5

Programmed aging

Answer 5

our cells have an intrinsic biological clock and are preprogrammed to function normally for only a specific length of time

Question 6

Damaged/error-based aging

Answer 6

damage inside the cells builds up overtime, eventually causing the cells to malfunction

Question 7

Biological theories of aging (2)

Answer 7

1. programmed aging
2. damage/error-based aging

Question 8

Chronic inflammation

Answer 8

as we age, our levels of inflammation in the body slowly rises

Question 9

Cellular senescence

Answer 9

cells get ‘old’ but instead of dying by apoptosis, they are dysfunctional and cause damage to cells around them

Question 10

Stem cell exhaustion

Answer 10

stem cells eventually start to die off and thus new cells can no longer be made

Question 11

Mitochondrial dysfunction

Answer 11

function decreases and impairs cell metabolism

Question 12

telomere attrition

Answer 12

get shorter with each DNA replication and eventually become critically short so the DNA can no longer replicate

Question 13

Epigenetic modifications

Answer 13

gene expression gets turned on or off due to malfunctioning at the genomic level

Question 14

Genomic instability

Answer 14

DNA becomes more susceptible to mutations and damage

Question 15

Dysregulated energy (nutrient) sensing

Answer 15

impaired energy metabolism in the cells

Question 16

impaired protein homeostasis

Answer 16

proteins in cells are no longer doing their job or functioning properly and this wreaks havoc on the cells

Question 17

What is the biggest risk factor for all major chronic diseases?

Answer 17

Aging

Question 18

Lifestyle-behavioural strategies as prevention of aging

Answer 18

• regular physical activity
• healthy dietary practices
• conventional preventative medicine practices

Question 19

What is the strongest evidence of preservation of physiological function with aging

Answer 19

regular, lifelong physical activity

Question 20

What can help lengthen our telomeres?

Answer 20

• managing chronic stress
• exercising
• eating better
• getting enough sleep

Question 21

Intermittent fasting and aging

Answer 21

• triggers autophagy i cells
• clean up cellular damage that builds with age
• induces cellular stress resistance
• longevity health benefits

Question 22

Good diets for aging

Answer 22

• mediterranean diet
• DASH diet

Question 23

Diets for aging should include what?

Answer 23

• anti-inflammatory
• antioxidants
• low fat/ good fat
• lower glycemic index

Question 24

What are nutraceuticals?

Answer 24

foods or natural ingredients from food with potential health benefits that are beyond their basic nutritional value

Question 25

Nutraceuticals: Resveratrol

Answer 25

• found in red wine and grapes
• inhibit components of cell aging
• improve age-related neuromuscular strength and endurance, blood glucose level, and cardiovascular function