Category: Ageing

Categories : AgeingTags :

An Internationally Standardised Set of Handgrip Strength Norms

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Convenient, safe, and non-invasive, ‘handgrip strength’ is a reliable predictor for age-related disease and disability. Now, a groundbreaking study has created the world’s largest and most geographically comprehensive international norms for handgrip strength, enabling global peer-comparison, health screening and surveillance across the adult lifespan.

Published in The Journal of Sport and Health Science, the new norms are based on 100 unique observational studies representing 2.4 million adults aged 20 to 100+ years, from 69 countries (representing six of the seven continents, 17 of 22 United Nations’ geographical subregions, and 71% of the world’s population). The study was led by the University of South Australia and conducted in collaboration with 140 authors across the globe.

It is the first time that norms have been reported for handgrip strength across different age groups and sexes at the international level.

Handgrip strength, or isometric grip, is measured via a handgrip dynamometer which is gripped and squeezed to record the maximum force a person can produce over a few seconds. A person with low handgrip, or low muscle strength, has a higher risk of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease as well as a higher incidence of physical disability.

The new study has established a percentile framework that ranks strength. Adults below the 20th percentile are considered to have ‘low’ strength; those between 20-39th percentiles have ‘somewhat low’ strength; those in the 40-59th percentiles have ‘moderate’ strength; those in the 60-79th percentiles have ‘somewhat high’ strength; and those at or above the 80th percentile having ‘high’ strength.

Importantly, norms can be used to monitor healthy aging by examining changes in strength over time.

Finally, international benchmarks for comparison

Lead researcher Professor Grant Tomkinson says the new norms will help clinicians better identify people who may be at risk of poor health and in need of interventions.

“Muscle strength, which reflects the ability of the muscles to produce force maximally, is a powerful biomarker of current and future health,” Prof Tomkinson says. “A good general measure of overall muscle strength is how hard you can grip. Grip strength improves a little throughout early adulthood, peaks between age 30 and 39, and then drops off as people age, especially in late adulthood.

“By establishing international handgrip norms through a reference population, we can determine how well someone compares to their peers of the same age and sex, and quickly identify people who need intervention.

“But until now, there has been no international markers by which to compare or benchmark.

“Our research has established robust international norms that enable clinicians and exercise professionals to interpret and relate results in a percentile ranking. For example, adults below the 20th percentile are considered to have ‘low’ strength, those between 20-39th percentiles have ‘somewhat low’ strength, and so on as the scale progresses.

“So, what we have developed is an international guideline and benchmark that enables clinicians to compare and track muscle strength – and therefore potential health risks – across the adult lifespan.”

The new norms will enable standardised grip strength test results for cross- and within-country comparisons, to identify trends over time, monitor improvements and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented public health policies. They will also facilitate individual feedback, advice, and health interventions for those at risk.

Source: University of South Australia

Categories : Ageing ExerciseTags :

Many Could Easily Add Five Years to Their Lifespan

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If everyone was as active as the top 25% of the population, individuals over the age of 40 could add five years to their life, according to a new study led by Griffith University researchers. 

Physical activity has long been known to be good for health, however estimates have varied regarding how much benefit could be gained from a defined amount of activity, both for individuals and for populations. 

This latest study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, used US-based accelerometer data to gain an accurate view of a population’s physical activity levels instead of relying on survey responses as per other studies, and found the benefits were around twice as strong as previous estimates.  

It found the most active quarter of people in the community had a 73% lower risk of death than their least active counterparts. For that least active quartile, a single one-hour walk could potentially return a benefit of around six additional hours of life.  

Lead researcher Professor Lennert Veerman said this cohort had the greatest potential for health gains.  

“If you’re already very active or in that top quartile, an extra hour’s walk may not make much difference as you’ve, in a sense, already ‘maxed out’ your benefit,” he said.   

“If the least active quartile of the population over age 40 were to increase their activity level to that of the most active quartile however, they might live, on average, about 11 years longer.

“This is not an unreasonable prospect, as 25 per cent of the population is already doing it.  It can be any type of exercise but would roughly be the equivalent of just under three hours of walking per day.” 

The research team suggested low levels of physical activity could even rival the negative effects of smoking, with other research finding each cigarette could take 11 minutes from a smoker’s life.  

By extension, a more active lifestyle could also offer protective effects against heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and other chronic illnesses, with the study’s findings highlighting a need for national physical activity guidelines to be revisited using these methods.  

Dr Veerman said physical activity had been vastly underestimated in its capacity to improve health outcomes, suggesting even modest increases in movement could lead to significant life-extension benefits.  

“If there’s something you could do to more than halve your risk of death, physical activity is enormously powerful,” he said.  

“If we could increase investment in promoting physical activity and creating living environments that promote it such as walkable or cyclable neighbourhoods and convenient, affordable public transport systems, we could not only increase longevity but also reduce pressure on our health systems and the environment.”  

Source: Griffith University

Categories : Ageing NeurologyTags :

Extra Year of Education does Not Protect the Brain

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Thanks to a ‘natural experiment’ involving 30 000 people, researchers at Radboud university medical centre were able to very precisely determine the effect of an extra year of education to the brain in the long term. To their surprise, they found no effect on brain structure and no protective benefit of additional education against brain ageing. Their findings appear in eLife.

It is well-known that education has many positive effects. People who spend more time in school are generally healthier, smarter, and have better jobs and higher incomes than those with less education. However, whether prolonged education actually causes changes in brain structure over the long term and protects against brain ageing, was still unknown.

It is challenging to study this, because alongside education, many other factors influence brain structure, such as the conditions under which someone grows up, DNA traits, and environmental pollution. Nonetheless, researchers Rogier Kievit (PI of the Lifespan Cognitive Dynamics lab) and Nicholas Judd from Radboudumc and the Donders Institute found a unique opportunity to very precisely examine the effects of an extra year of education.

Ageing

In 1972, a change in the law in the UK raised the number of mandatory school years from 15 to 16, while all other circumstances remained constant. This created an interesting ‘natural experiment’, an event not under the control of researchers which divides people into an exposed and unexposed group. Data from approximately 30 000 people who attended school around that time, including MRI scans taken much later (46 years after), is available. This dataset is the world’s largest collection of brain imaging data.

The researchers examined the MRI scans for the structure of various brain regions, but they found no differences between those who attended school longer and those who did not. ‘This surprised us’, says Judd. ‘We know that education is beneficial, and we had expected education to provide protection against brain aging. Aging shows up in all of our MRI measures, for instance we see a decline in total volume, surface area, cortical thickness, and worse water diffusion in the brain. However, the extra year of education appears to have no effect here.’

Brain structure

It’s possible that the brain looked different immediately after the extra year of education, but that wasn’t measured. “Maybe education temporarily increases brain size, but it returns to normal later. After all, it has to fit in your head,” explains Kievit. “It could be like sports: if you train hard for a year at sixteen, you’ll see a positive effect on your muscles, but fifty years later, that effect is gone.” It’s also possible that extra education only produces microscopic changes in the brain, which are not visible with MRI.

Both in this study and in other, smaller studies, links have been found between more education and brain benefits. For example, people who receive more education have stronger cognitive abilities, better health, and a higher likelihood of employment. However, this is not visible in brain structure via MRI. Kievit notes: “Our study shows that one should be cautious about assigning causation when only a correlation is observed. Although we also see correlations between education and the brain, we see no evidence of this in brain structure.”

Source: Radboud University Medical Centre

Categories : AgeingTags :

Standing on One Leg is a Good Indicator of Ageing

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How long a person can stand on one leg is a more tell-tale measure of ageing than changes in strength or gait, according to new Mayo Clinic research published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Good balance, muscle strength and an efficient gait contribute to people’s independence and well-being as they age. How these factors change, and at what rate, can help clinicians develop programs to ensure healthy ageing. Individually, people can train their balance without special equipment and work on maintaining it over time.

In this study, 40 healthy, independent people over 50 underwent walking, balance, grip strength and knee strength tests. Half of the participants were under 65; the other half were 65 and older.

In the balance tests, participants stood on force plates in different situations: on both feet with eyes open, on both feet with eyes closed, on the non-dominant leg with eyes open, and on the dominant leg with eyes open. In the one-legged tests, participants could hold the leg they weren’t standing on where they wanted. The tests were 30 seconds each.

Standing on one leg, specifically the nondominant leg, showed the highest rate of decline with age.

“Balance is an important measure because, in addition to muscle strength, it requires input from vision, the vestibular system and the somatosensory systems,” says Kenton Kaufman, PhD, senior author of the study and director of the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Mayo Clinic. “Changes in balance are noteworthy. If you have poor balance, you’re at risk of falling, whether or not you’re moving. Falls are a severe health risk with serious consequences.”

Unintentional falls are the leading cause of injuries among adults who are 65 and older. Most falls among older adults result from a loss of balance.

In the other tests:

  • Researchers used a custom-made device to measure participants’ grip. For the knee strength test, participants were in a seated position and instructed to extend their knee as forcefully as possible. Both the grip and knee strength tests were on the dominant side. Grip and knee strength showed significant declines by decade but not as much as balance. Grip strength decreased at a faster rate than knee strength, making it better at predicting aging than other strength measures.
  • For the gait test, participants walked back and forth on an 8-metre, level walkway at their own pace and speed. Gait parameters didn’t change with age. This was not a surprising result since participants were walking at their normal pace, not their maximum pace, Dr Kaufman says.
  • There were no age-related declines in the strength tests that were specific to sex. This indicates that participants’ grip and knee strength declined at a similar rate. Researchers did not identify sex differences in the gait and balance tests, which suggests that male and female subjects were equally affected by age.

Dr Kaufman says that people can take steps to train their balance. For example, by standing on one leg, you can train yourself to coordinate your muscle and vestibular responses to maintain correct balance. If you can stand on one leg for 30 seconds, you are doing well, he says.

“If you don’t use it, you lose it. If you use it, you maintain it,” Dr Kaufman says. “It’s easy to do. It doesn’t require special equipment, and you can do it every day.”

Source: Mayo Clinic

Categories : Ageing Neurodegenerative DiseasesTags :

Polypharmacy Negatively Impacts Older Adults with Dementia

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Over 30% of older adults take five or more medications daily, which is termed polypharmacy. It is associated with poor health outcomes like falls, medication interactions, hospitalisations and even death. Multiple chronic conditions in older adults increases the risk of polypharmacy. While polypharmacy is more common in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, there is little research examining the impact on symptoms, health outcomes and physical function.

Researchers from Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions recently published a study in Biological Research For Nursing examining symptoms, health outcomes and physical function over time in older adults with and without Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and polypharmacy.

Led by Martha Coates, PhD, the research team found that individuals who are experiencing polypharmacy and have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias experience more symptoms, falls, hospitalisations, mortality and had lower physical function – indicating that polypharmacy can also negatively impact quality of life for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

“The cut-off of point of five or more medications daily has been associated with adverse health outcomes in previous research, and as the number of medications increase the risk of adverse drug events and harm increases,” said Coates.

The research team used a publicly available dataset from the National Health and Aging Trends Study – a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries in the United States from Johns Hopkins University. Since 2011, data is collected yearly to examine social, physical, technological and functional domains that are important in aging.

For this study, the research team used data from 2016 through 2019 to compare changes in symptoms, health outcomes and physical function among four groups: 1) those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and polypharmacy; 2) those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias only; 3) those with polypharmacy only; and 4) those without either Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias or polypharmacy.

Coates explained that the researchers used analytic weights to analyse the data, which generates national estimates, making the sample of 2052 individuals representative of 12 million Medicare beneficiaries in the US, increasing the generalisability of the findings.

“We found that older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and polypharmacy experienced more unpleasant symptoms, increased odds of falling, being hospitalised and mortality compared to those without Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and polypharmacy,” said Coates. “They also experienced more functional decline, required more assistance with activities of daily living like eating, bathing and dressing, and were more likely to need an assistive device like a cane or walker.”

Coates noted that there are tools available to help health care providers review and manage medication regimens for older adults experiencing polypharmacy and possibly taking medications that are potentially inappropriate or no longer provide benefit. However, currently there are no specific tools like that for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

The findings from this research shed light on the negative impact polypharmacy can have on older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. But Coates added that further research is needed to develop strategies to reduce the occurrence of polypharmacy in people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

The research team anticipates this study will help guide future analysis of the impact of specific medications on health outcomes in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and that it provides a foundation to support intervention development for medication optimisation in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and polypharmacy.

Source: Drexler University

Categories : Ageing VaccinesTags :

New Research Shows that Recombinant Shingles Vaccine Protects Against Dementia

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New research published in Nature has shown that the recombinant shingles vaccine, as with the live version, might have a protective effect against dementia.

While evidence is emerging that the live herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine might protect against dementia, it has now been replaced by recombinant vaccines in many countries. But a lack of data meant that whether the recombinant vaccines conferred the same benefit was unknown. Fortunately, since there was a rapid switch from live to recombinant vaccines, there was an opportunity for a natural experiment to compare the risk of dementia between vaccine types.

The study demonstrated that the recombinant vaccine is associated with a significantly lower risk of dementia in the 6 years post-vaccination. Specifically, receiving the recombinant vaccine is associated with a 17% increase in diagnosis-free time, translating into 164 additional days lived without a diagnosis of dementia in those subsequently affected.

The recombinant shingles vaccine was also associated with lower risks of dementia than were two other vaccines commonly used in older people: influenza and tetanus–diphtheria–pertussis vaccines. The effect was robust across multiple secondary analyses, and was present in both men and women but was greater in women. These findings should stimulate studies investigating the mechanisms underpinning the protection and could facilitate the design of a large-scale randomised control trial to confirm the possible additional benefit of the recombinant shingles vaccine.

Categories : AgeingTags :

Metformin Found to Slow Ageing in Primate Trial

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An exhaustive four year-long study has shown that metformin reduces the effect of ageing. Using a wide array of ageing indicators, the researchers found that metformin resulted in about six year regression in brain ageing. They reported their findings in Cell.

Prior research and anectodal evidence suggested that metformin had an anti-ageing effect. Given to flies, worms and rodents, the drug showed evidence of rejuvenation. People taking metformin also reported feeling younger the longer they took it for.

In a rigorous 40-month study, the researchers gave metformin to 12 elderly male cynomolgus macaques and 18 other cynomolgus monkeys the drug daily. They were aged 13–16 years, equivalent to 40–50 in human years. A control group was used, as well as middle-aged and younger controls to account for ageing effects.

The study encompassed a comprehensive suite of physiological, imaging, histological, and molecular evaluations, substantiating metformin’s influence on delaying age-related phenotypes at the organismal level.

Tissue samples were taken at regular intervals, we leveraged pan-tissue transcriptomics, DNA methylomics, plasma proteomics, and metabolomics to develop innovative monkey aging clocks and applied these to gauge metformin’s effects on ageing.

The results highlighted a significant slowing of aging indicators. A number of organs that seemed to benefit included the kidneys, lungs and the skin. The greatest effect was seen in the brain, however. Metformin exerts a substantial neuroprotective effect, preserving brain structure and enhancing cognitive ability. In this case, treated monkeys had brain activity comparable to those six years younger.

The geroprotective effects on primate neurons were partially mediated by the activation of Nrf2, a transcription factor with anti-oxidative capabilities. The researchers say that this work pioneers the systemic reduction of multi-dimensional biological age in primates through metformin, paving the way for advancing pharmaceutical strategies against human aging.

The researchers have also started a much larger phase 2 human trial, with 120 participants.

Categories : AgeingTags :

Ground-breaking Identification of Key Enzyme in Aging Cells

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A team at Kumamoto University has made a ground-breaking discovery in the field of aging and inflammation. The research focuses on “cellular senescence,” a process where cells stop dividing and enter a state associated with chronic inflammation and aging. This cellular state, known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), involves the secretion of inflammatory proteins that accelerate aging and disease, such as dementia, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.

The researchers found that ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY), an enzyme involved in converting citrate to acetyl-CoA, plays a critical role in activating SASP. This discovery was made using advanced sequencing and bioinformatics analyses on human fibroblasts, a type of cell found throughout the body. They demonstrated that blocking ACLY activity, either genetically or with inhibitors, significantly reduced the expression of inflammation-related genes in aging cells. This suggests that ACLY is a crucial factor in maintaining the pro-inflammatory environment in aged tissues.

Furthermore, the study revealed that ACLY-derived acetyl-CoA modifies histones, proteins that DNA wraps around, allowing the chromatin reader BRD4 to activate inflammatory genes. By targeting the ACLY-BRD4 pathway, the researchers were able to suppress inflammation responses in aged mice, highlighting the potential of ACLY inhibitors in controlling chronic inflammation while maintaining healthy aging.

This discovery opens new avenues for developing treatments that specifically target the harmful aspects of aging cells without removing them, offering a promising strategy for managing aging and age-related diseases. The research provides a stepping stone toward therapies that can control cellular aging, promoting longer, healthier lives.

Categories : AgeingTags :

Who will Live to 100?

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Those who wish to live to 100 cannot rely on chance. Instead, it is essential to keep biomarkers associated with ageing and disease in check. By the age of 60, it may already be too late.

Text by: Maja Lundbäck, first published in Medical Science No 3 2024

Swedes are increasingly living to older ages. Thirty years ago, 85-90- year-olds were rare, but now the majority reach that age ‒ and two percent even get to see 100 candles on their birthday cake.

“Centenarians are the age group that is increasing the most now,” says Karin Modig, Associate Professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, who researches ageing and health.

In a study published in the journal GeroScience, she and her colleagues show that it is possible to predict who has the greatest chance of becoming very old already during early ageing. The study is based on approximately 44 000 Swedes who underwent health examinations between 1985 and 1996, aged between 64 and 99. Of these, 1224 individuals lived to 100.

“The results suggest that becoming very old is not solely a matter of chance; it also seems to be linked to lifestyle,” says Karin Modig.

Known biomarkers 

By looking at known biomarkers previously associated with ageing and disease, the researchers found that the centenarians had better health than their peers already in their 60s. All but two of twelve biomarkers examined could be linked to increased chances of reaching 100 years. Low iron levels reduce the chance, as does low total cholesterol, which can be a marker of disease processes in the body.

Four of the biomarkers stood out as particularly important: creatinine levels, which indicate kidneys health, were almost always normal at age 60 in those who lived to 100. The same was true for liver markers and uric acid levels, a marker for inflammatory processes. Individuals with the lowest uric acid levels had a four percent chance of living to 100, while those with the highest levels had a 1.5 percent chance. Blood sugar levels were also rarely above 6.5mmol/litrw.

The results suggest that it may be possible to increase one’s chances of living to 100 by changing your lifestyle, she believes.

“At the same time, life is not about living according to an algorithm; everyone must find their own balance between risk factors and health factors,’ she says.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

Categories : Ageing CancerTags :

Common Treatments for Breast Cancer may Speed up Aging

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A new study has revealed that common breast cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, may accelerate the biological aging process in breast cancer survivors. The findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, show that markers of cellular aging, such as DNA damage response, cellular senescence, and inflammatory pathways, significantly increased in all breast cancer survivors, regardless of the type of treatment received. This suggests that the impact of breast cancer treatments on the body is more extensive than previously thought.

“For the first time, we’re showing that the signals we once thought were driven by chemotherapy are also present in women undergoing radiation and surgery,” said study lead author Judith Carroll, an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioural sciences at UCLA. “While we expected to see increased gene expression linked to biological aging in women who received chemotherapy, we were surprised to find similar changes in those who only underwent radiation or surgery.”

Advances in cancer therapies have greatly improved survival rates, with an estimated 4 million breast cancer survivors in the US today and over 6 million expected by 2040. However, breast cancer is linked to accelerated aging, impacting physical abilities, independence, and lifespan. Biological aging processes, which drive conditions like fatigue, cognitive decline, frailty, and cardiovascular disease, appear to be a major factor. Evidence suggests that cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, can increase the risk of earlier onset of these aging-related conditions, making it crucial to understand the specific pathways involved to better target and manage them.

To examine how gene expression related to aging changes over time in women diagnosed with breast cancer, the team conducted a two-year longitudinal study that tracked women undergoing breast cancer treatment prior to receiving treatment and again following treatment to see how their biological aging markers evolved. 

The team tracked the gene expression in their blood cells using RNA sequencing, focusing on markers that signal biological aging, including a process known as cellular senescence, which is when cells stop dividing but don’t die. These so-called “zombie cells” accumulate over time and can release harmful substances that damage nearby healthy cells, contributing to aging and inflammation.

 The data was then analysed using statistical models to help identify aging-related changes.

The team found that regardless of treatment type there was an increase in expression of genes that track cellular processes involved in biological aging. Specifically, genes that capture cellular senescence and the inflammatory signal from these cells, indicating that their immune cells were aging faster than normal.

They also saw increases in DNA damage response genes, which are genes that are expressed when there is DNA damage. Although chemotherapy did have a slightly different pattern, similar to what others have shown, they also noted changes in women who did not receive chemotherapy. 

“The results suggest women who receive treatment for breast cancer have a pattern of gene expression that indicates increased DNA damage and inflammation, which could be important targets for recovering from cancer and having a better quality of life in survivorship,” said senior author of the study Julienne Bower(Link opens in new window), professor of psychology in the UCLA College and psychiatry and biobehavioural sciences and member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

“We’ve only just begun to understand the long-term consequences of cancer therapy and these findings are a critical step toward understanding the biological pathways that drive many post-treatment symptoms in breast cancer survivors,” added Carroll. “Our goal is to find ways to improve survivorship, not just in terms of years lived, but also in quality of life and overall health.”

The team is now exploring a new biomarker that measures a woman’s biological age and the pace at which she is aging. This could help determine whether the aging signals detected during cancer treatment have a long-term effect on biological age. The team plans to investigate factors that may influence this, with a focus on protective behaviours such as exercise, stress management and healthy sleep patterns.