Current Aging Science - Volume 5, Issue 3, 2012

Light-at-night has become an increasing and essential part of the modern lifestyle and leads to a number of health problems, including excessive body mass index, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Working Group concluded that “shift-work that involves circadian disruption is probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A) [1]. According to the circadian disrupti Read More

Catecholamines play an important role in the hypothalamic regulation of the synthesis and secretion of gonadotropin- releasing hormone, or gonadoliberin. We have shown that melatonin and the pineal gland peptides (epithalamine and epitalon) exert a correcting influence on the diurnal dynamics of norepinephrine (NE) in the medial preoptic area (MPA) and of dopamine (DA) in the median eminence with arcuate nuclei ( Read More

Earlier we reported that the urinary excretion of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) displayed seasonal rhythms in laboratory rats and hypothesized that the horizontal intensity H of the geomagnetic field may act as seasonal zeitgeber. To test this, long-term experiments were performed with female Sprague-Dawley rats. In experiment I (n=12: 1997-1999) nocturnal aMT6s displayed a winter-summer increase by 30% and a rhythm wit Read More

Aging and aging related illnesses such as cancer have been associated with inflammatory changes. Cancerrelated behavioral comorbidities such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, depression have also been associated with inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation and other neuroendocrine changes. From a clinical perspective, cancer-related fatigue demonstrates striking similarities with the cytokine-in Read More

We adduce proof that telomere shortening is the sole mechanism of aging. All apparent contradictions, particularly the absence of an inverse correlation between residual telomere length and donor age, are explained within the bounds of telomere theory. We explain in what way telomere shortening might be the cause of aging and lifespan restriction. We also show the inability of the oxidative theory to explain a number of Read More

In the central nervous system (CNS) microglia are crucial for the defense of the brain against invading microorganisms, formation of tumors, and damage following trauma [1]. However, uncontrolled activation of these cells may have deleterious outcomes [2] through activation of Fcγ and the complement 3 receptors and the induction of an adaptive immune reaction [3]. Proteins contributing to this reaction are the intercellula Read More

We are entering a post-antibiotic era in medicine, as resistance to commonly used antibiotics rises and the discovery of successful new classes of antibiotics slows. New therapeutic targets are being identified and investigated, including approaches that may overcome resistance, interrupt bacterial communication, and enhance human immune function. Immune function is negatively affected by type B malnutrition (multipl Read More

A primary culture of murine cerebellar neurons was used to induce oxidative stress resulting in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of ERK 1/2 kinase. Short-term incubation (15 min) of cerebellar neurons with homocysteine (HC) or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) induced partial ERK 1/2 phosphorylation thus providing the activation of the enzyme. Inhibitors of NMDA receptors, MK-801 or D-AP5, bot Read More

Aging and advanced cancer are characterized by similar neuroendocrine and immune deficiencies; the most important of them consist of diminished nocturnal production of the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) and decreased production of IL-2. At present, however, it is known that the pineal gland may produce indole hormones other than MLT. The most investigated of them is represented by 5-methoxy-tryptamine (5- Read More

The effect of histidine-containing dipeptides—carnosine and N-acetylcarnosine—on preventing and treating of cataracts of various etiologic origins has been demonstrated in many studies in vivo, while the precise molecular mechanism of their action is actually obscure. Cataract has been recently attributed to conformational diseases due to the association of lens structure protein aggregation with cataract pathogenesis. I Read More

The effect of melatonin administration on age-induced alterations in hepatocytes, central nervous system, immune system, and skin are reviewed. Twenty-two-month-old Wistar rats and SAMP8 (senescence prone) mice of 10 months of age were used as experimental models. Wistar rats were analyzed untreated or after the chronic administration of melatonin at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day in the drinking water for 10 weeks. At the Read More

Gp96 (also known as glucose-regulated protein 94, endoplasmin) is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein, which belongs to the heat shock protein HSP90 family. It is upregulated in response to glucose starvation and other stressful stimuli that disrupt protein synthesis in the ER. There, it is acting as a molecular chaperon involved in the correction of unfolded proteins, in the activation of proteasome-dependent E Read More

Thanks to the discoveries of psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology, we now know that every psychological state is mediated by a specific neurochemical condition and every neurochemical change in turn influences psychological status. We can now identify three different levels of neurochemical mediation of the psychological states: neurotransmission, neuromodulation, and the psychoneuromodulation. Neurotran Read More

This study presents a method for treating and structurally improving articulations affected by degenerative joint disease (DJD). The focus of this analysis is on two groups of patients: the first comprised patients over eighty years old, and the second comprised patients aged 45 to 55 years. The first group was a high surgical risk and both had been nonresponders to current conservative therapies. Scholars like Davis, Filatov, Read More