BIOMARKERS OF AGINGDESAK MADE WIHANDANI

AGINGAging is a process that can affect almost all the systems in the body. With increasing age, physically and mentally healthy adults gradually become less fit and more vulnerable to illness and death. However, these changes happen at different rates in different people

AGINGChronological age is the most obvious marker of age. An 80-year-old may be physiologically better off than a 65-year-old. The aging process can catch up to different people at different times.

BIOMARKERS OF AGINGThe idea of biomarkers is to measure the aging process, but it has been difficult to separate this out from the effects of a disease if one is present. Studies on biomarkers of aging have looked for changes in cells, hormones, genes, and even behaviors to find a predictor of the rate of aging.

BIOMARKERS OF AGINGTherefore, scientists are looking for other predictors of life span. While there are several candidates for such "biomarkers of aging," none have so far been proven to be a true measure of the underlying aging process. A true biomarker of aging must meet certain criteria in order to be both accurate and useful

CRITERIA FOR BIOMARKERS OF AGING1. It must predict a person's physiological, cognitive, and physical function in an age-related way. 2. It must be able to be tested repeatedly without harming the person. It should work in laboratory animals as well as humans.

Biomarkers need to be simple and inexpensive to use. They should cause little or no pain and stress. And they must measure aging accurately.

TARGETS FOR BIOMARKERS No biomarker has yet been successfully identified. One difficulty has to do with the overlap between aging and disease. Both the aging process and diseases can cause changes in the body, which affect life span Another obstacle is the fact that some age-related changes cause no harm, while others do. It isn't entirely known which changes are harmful and which are benign. This makes it more difficult to pinpoint exactly what to look for.

TARGETS FOR BIOMARKERSAge at menopause has been suggested as a possible biomarker of aging for women. One study showed that women who had early menopause (before age 44) had shorter life spans than women who experienced menopause at ages 50 to 54. This suggests that ovarian function is related to the overall aging process, but the mechanistic links for this require further study

RESEARCH FOR BIOMARKERSAging doesn't occur at a single rate, and therefore the rate of aging can't be measured.Different body functions can change at different rates over time. A person may lose muscle strength faster than eyesight deteriorates. And there can be different reasons for the deterioration. For example, a person may lose muscle strength faster because he or she never had much strength to begin with.There are still many researchers who believe that there is a rate at which aging takes place and that it can be measured.

BIOMARKERS FOR AGINGThere is a slow shift toward prevention instead of curative research. Each researcher appears to have a favorite marker for aging. There are over fourty potential markers for aging including lung capacity, systolic blood pressure, cartilage telomere, lens density, serum cholesterol, lipofuscin in cerebral ganglia, DHEA, etc.

BIOMARKERS FOR AGINGResearchers have identified certain aging forces in the body: oxidative damage (oxidative stress), ROS, faulty anti-oxidation system, DNA damage and faulty DNA repair process, alterations in gene expression, mitochondrial damage, protein damage and decreased rate of protein turn over, damage to lipids, glycation, neuro-hormonal deregulation, genetic programming of lifespan potential or a synergetic effect of all these factors.