The Biological Basis of Ageing

Kirkwood, Tbl; Wolff, Sebastián

doi:10.1093/ageing/24.2.167

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Kirkwood and Wolff suggest that the different life spans of different species reflect differing distributions of investment in allocation of metabolic resources between maintenance and reproduction, which have evolved in response to extrinsic circumstances 18. Their theory predicts that, rather than any single mechanism for aging, the mechanisms responsible are those types of damage for which maintenance and repair are metabolically costly, such as damage to and mutations of DNA, defective mitochondria, oxidative damage by free radicals, and accumulation of aberrant proteins.…”

Section: Genes and Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthy aging

Khaw

1997

BMJ

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Section: Genes and Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthy aging

Khaw

1997

BMJ

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“…The disposable soma theory37 suggests that aging is a result of the accumulation of defects in macromolecules and that these occur because of limited capacity for somatic maintenance and repair. Mathematical modelling can be used to determine the optimal allocation of nutritional resources between reproduction and repair to maximise survival of the species.…”

Section: Theories Of Agingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is lifespan determined in utero?

Sayer

Cooper

Barker

1997

Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition

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Improved methods of epidemiological research will most likely reveal numerous curious and provocative associations between health experiences in early childhood and the occurrence of later disease. Reduced exposure to infection in childhood has been implicated as a factor in the pathogenesis of insulin dependent diabetes (IDDM). Caspar Gibbon et al put this theory to the test in a brief but important paper on pages 384-5, which points to an association between decreased exposure to common infections in infancy, based on general practitioner records, and IDDM in children under the age of 16 years.In conclusion, high quality epidemiological research during the next decade will present us with many intriguing discoveries about the influence of fetal and early childhood experience on diseases in adult life. We need also to tease out similarities of biological mechanisms of disease processes in the young and the elderly. Treatment strategies aimed at manipulating biological processes may be common to both. Stroke in the elderly and hypoxic-ischaemic brain damage in the newborn is but one example. We should also acknowledge the notion that "dependency" provokes similar psycho-social problems at the two extremes of life, including neglect and abuse. The basic science that governs the state of dependency of the very young and the elderly has similarities that might be exploited to provide improved preventive and management strategies for both, even though there will be diVerences in detail.

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“…Kirkwood & Wol¡ (1995) have suggested, in their`disposable soma' theory, that organisms allocate metabolic resources between maintenance and reproduction; thus, the di¡erent lifespans of di¡erent species re£ect the di¡ering distribution of investment in these two processes which have evolved in response to extrinsic circumstances. This theory predicts that there is unlikely to be any single mechanism of ageing; rather, that the mechanisms responsible for ageing are those types of damage for which maintenance and repair processes are metabolically costly.…”

Section: Ag E I Ng Biolo G Ic a L R I S K Fac Tor S A N D Di S E mentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiological aspects of ageing

Khaw¹

1997

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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A major societal challenge is to improve quality of life and prevent or reduce disability and dependency in an ageing population. Increasing age is associated with increasing risk of disability and loss of independence, due to functional impairments such as loss of mobility, hearing and vision; a major issue must be how far disability can be prevented. Ageing is associated with loss of bone tissue, reduction in muscle mass, reduced respiratory function, decline in cognitive function, rise in blood pressure and macular degeneration which predispose to disabling conditions such as osteoporosis, heart disease, dementia and blindness.However, there are considerable variations in di¡erent communities in terms of the rate of age-related decline. Large geographic and secular variations in the age-adjusted incidence of major chronic diseases such as stroke, hip fracture, coronary heart disease, cancer, visual loss from cataract, glaucoma and macular degeneration suggest strong environmental determinants in diet, physical activity and smoking habit. The evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of chronic disabling conditions associated with ageing are preventable, or at least postponable and not an inevitable accompaniment of growing old. Postponement or prevention of these conditions may not only increase longevity, but, more importantly, reduce the period of illnesses such that the majority of older persons may live high-quality lives, free of disability, until very shortly before death. We need to understand better the factors in£uencing the onset of age-related disability in the population, so that we have appropriate strategies to maintain optimal health in an ageing population.

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The Biological Basis of Ageing

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Healthy aging

Healthy aging

Is lifespan determined in utero?

Epidemiological aspects of ageing

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