Rather than aging being a gradual process, the human body actually experiences two dramatic bursts of aging at the molecular level, according to a new study.
The study — published Aug. 14 in the journal Aging of nature — analyzed over 135,000 types of molecules that are affected by aging in 108 adults between the ages of 25 and 75. These molecules are monitored for age-related changes every three to six months.
Stanford University researchers found that most of these sampled molecules did not change uniformly over time. Instead, they either increased or decreased rapidly around two ages: 45 and 65.
“We don’t just change gradually over time. There are some really dramatic changes,” Michael Snyder, a geneticist at Stanford University and co-author of the study.
“It turns out that the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s—and that’s true no matter what class of molecules you look at.”
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For people in their mid-40s, the study detailed significant changes in molecules related to alcohol, caffeine, and fat metabolism, heart disease, and skin and muscle. For those in their mid-60s, significant changes were seen in molecules associated with carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function and heart disease, as well as in skin and muscle.
The researchers say the findings could help better understand what drives these molecular changes.
“If we can find the drivers of these changes, we may even be able to find ways to slow or even reverse the drivers of aging at these two time points.” Xiaotao Shen, a computational biologist at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and co-author of the study, said The Washington Post.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education