In search for eternal youth

As citizen across the world, particularly in developed nations, are crossing the common lifelimiting barriers such as infections, heart attacks and cancers and beginning to accumulate in the chronological space of old age. Scientists are struggling hard to find ways to stopping the process of aging and keep them active, productive and happy.

Chronological age does not correlate well with functional age, i.e. two people may be of the same age, but differ in their mental and physical capacities, and some at 85 may play golf and be mentally alert, while another at 65 may be bedridden with diabetes, stroke and dementia.

The term “ageing” refers to a multi-dimensional process of physical, psychological and social change that occurs with time. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time while others decline. Reaction time, for example, may slow with age, while knowledge of world events and wisdom may expand, explaining why the proportion of elderly among politicians tends to be high. Research shows that even late in life potential exists for physical, mental, and social growth and development.

What causes the body, with all its organs and tissues, to grow old? Why does the skin wrinkle, hair gray, list of diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, cataract, and heart problems grow long, why do we start slowing down and also why do we become prone to a variety of cancers? The process seems to start with cells of our body showing signs of ageing, called senescence, that occurs due to the progressive shortening of one of its parts called telomere, each time the cell divides; when the telomere becomes too short, the cell dies. The length of telomeres is therefore the “molecular clock”. And what maintains the telomere length is an enzyme called telomerase.

Why then does the telomere shorten quickly in some and how can we keep our telomerase enzyme levels high? In 2007 researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, identified a critical gene that specifically links eating fewer calories with living longer and showed that the gene pha-4 regulates the longevity response to calorie restriction. Semistarved rats live much longer than their well-fed ones and slim beauty pageants may actually live longer than their wholesome counterparts!

Apart from the role of longevity determining genes (LDG), cumulative tissue stress arising from liberation of oxygen radicals during cell metabolism has been another suspect.

Aging tissues are deficient in anti-oxidants such as tocopherol, ascorbic acid and retinol that are normally found in fresh fruits and vegetables; hence the recommendation of 5 helpings of these every day. Whether the synthetic antioxidants sold as capsules do any good to keep our tissues young is yet to be proven.

Researchers have now identified compounds that can actually increase telomerase levels, and therby stop the process of ageing. Resveratrol, Rapamycin, acetyl-Lcarnitine and alpha-lipoic acid are some of them currently undergoing research. Fruits of the Paarijat tree (there are some in Barabanki and Sultanpur) with historical benefeciearies like Draupadi, could well hold the key.