Reversing Age-is it possible?

Written by Dr harold Gunatillake FRCS, FICS, FIACS, AM (Sing), MBBS (Cey) –Health writer

The average life expectancy at birth was 68 years and 6 months for males and 73 years and 6 months for females during 2010 and 2013, figures released by the United Nations World Population Prospects 2012 Revision. Japan leads the figures with both sexes expectancy of 83.7, followed by Singapore, Switzerland and Australia; in that order The lowest expectancies are Angola and Sierra with a life expectancy of 52.4 and 50.1 respectively.

In an ideal situation when age turns into ageless, humans will still die prematurely. It is the biological age and expected life span that would be everlasting, but through one’s journey in life could contract debilitating chronic diseases, traumatic experiences, dementia, Alzheimer’s and so on and demise.

WE age because our cells age and our telomeres get shorter.

So, what is the theory behind extending one’s life, and what can we learn from the newly discovered link between telomeres and aging?

Inside the nucleus of each cell in our body our genes are arranged along twisted double stranded structures of DNA called chromosomes. DNA stands for De Oxy-ribo Nucleic Acid. It is formed into X shaped bundles and thy are the chromosomes.

In human cells except for eggs and sperms there are 46 chromosomes. These are divided into 23 pairs. Each chromosome has the appearance of two knitted sausages tied together in the middle.

At the end of each limb of the linear chromosome there are specialised proteins forming a cap called the Telomere. They are akin to the caps worn by the Jewish community at functions and synagogue.

Telomeres being short segment of DNA, capping the ends of every chromosome acting as buffers against wear and tear, prevent neighbouring chromosomes fusing together to restrict their functions and prevent the ends joining and further protects the ends. Telomeres provide a mechanism for counting cell divisions

They shorten with every cell division that occurs during life, eventually getting too short to protect the chromosome, causing the cell to malfunction and the body to age.

Scientific research has discovered that these telomeres shorten with age. One could exercise, decrease toxins, eat a sensible balanced diet o improve nutrition, stay slim and lead a relaxed stress-free life with reduced physical, mental, and oxidative stress to slow down the shortening of telomeres. But so far this ‘ideal good life’ is only up to point. The scientists have now found that you could fight this end-stage of life by activation through an enzyme called telomerase. This enzyme is present in most cells, including cancer and especially in our reproductive organs which could prevent shortening and further help grow back telomere length.
Our body is composed of trillions of cells and the depletion is replaced by division and replication of them furiously to keep us alive. This process is activated by the genes sitting in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell in our body. Chromosomes are long arrangements of DNA that contains all our genetic material. They are in pairs, one from the father and the other from the mother.

As our cells start dividing the telomeres becomes progressively shorter. So long as there is some remains of telomeres the cells divide or replicate -another word used. The shortening of the telomeres is referred to as replicative senescence. (Senex in Latin means old).

This theory of cellular aging and telomere shortening was first noted by Professor Lenhard Hayflick in 1961. He observed that our body cells cannot divide permanently and there is a limit. When they reach this limit they get old, and the professor could not fathom how it happened. In 1990, Calvin Harley at McMaster University in Canada and Carol Grieder at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the USA discovered that telomere shortening goes hand in hand with the aging process and reaches a limit.

Telomerase

Telomerase is a proteins enzyme found in stem cells. Stem cells can keep replicating till it grows to an organ. Telomerase do help in the process to repeat division of the cells during the process.

Telomerase replaces short bits of DNA known as telomeres, preventing shortening to reach its limit of senility.

Telomerase enzymes found in cancer cells seem to promote division, to spread the cancerous process. Telomerase is a good biomarker for cancer detection because most cancer cells have high levels of the enzymes. If the telomeres in the human cells can be maintained at normal length it would kill cancer cells and also prevent aging. Gene therapy would be the answer.

Ashkenazi Jews seem to live long life. They seem to inherit a hyperactive version of telomerase.

Mice engineered to block the gene that produces telomerase died at six months without reaching the average mouse lifespan of about three years. When telomerase was administered these mice ‘rejuvenated’ restored fertility and led their normal life.

There are many chronic diseases associated with short telomeres. It will be possible one day to correct the DNA damage in them and telomerase injection would have a less chance of their aging.

Telomerase Vaccines

Two telomerase vaccines have been developed. They seem to show that the telomeres shortening is seen to slow down

More discussion:

Do we age because of our environment? People living in the North Pole and South Pole seem to age at the same level as that in the equator.
In the petri dish in the laboratories one could stop aging. We now know that incorporating the cells with the enzyme telomerase in vitro one could arrest aging. It is a matter of time when in vivo same technique could be applied to prolong life of humans.

Gene therapy

There are gene therapies. Elizabeth Parrish in USA has become the first human being to be successfully rejuvenated by gene therapy. Telomere score is calculated according to telomere length of white cells (T lymphocytes).

After gene therapy the tests showed that her telomeres had lengthened by approximately 20 years. This implies that the white cells (T leukocytes) have become biologically younger.

BioViva in USA specialises in Gene Therapy.

Exercise

Exercise seems to lengthen ones telomeres. Marathon runners have longer telomeres than the sedentary people. Life style seems to be influencing the length of telomeres.

How would you create the ultimate nutritional system for telomere health?

Supplement vitamin D seems to decrease the shortening of telomeres. Psychological stress and depression seem to shorten telomere length.
Smoking and obesity shortens the telomere length.

Meditation helps stress and helps in preventing shortening of telomeres.

Taking glycine improving your metabolic rate among athletes, L arginine seems to prevent shortening of your telomeres.
Prof Jun-Ichi Hayashi from the University of Tsukuba discovered that cell’s mitochondria a small organ that produce the cell energy is responsible for the sick state we know of as “getting old”.

Professor discovered that two genes involved with the production of glycine, is partly responsible for some of the characteristics of aging. Reduction in glycine seems to case deterioration of the cell’s mitochondria enhancing shortening of telomeres and leading to aging.

Glycine is present in most foods, like pork rinds and gelatin, soy products are loaded with it.

In conclusion, to prevent aging and prevent accelerated shortening of telomeres, exercise daily, eat nutritious foods that promote good health, take supplements like vitamin D and glycine and check your telomere score every five years.
(Some ref: www.vita-stream.com)