Cellular Processes Involved in Brain Aging
The paper here is a representative example of much of the mainstream of research into aging, in that it is focused on processes that are well downstream of the causes of aging. In effect they are mechanistic symptoms of aging, the taxonomy of disruptions to the normal operation of cells and tissues that is the result of the underlying processes of damage accumulation that drive aging. It is likely that focusing on downstream outcomes of aging will result in an expensive path to poor therapies, at least in comparison to a focus on the underlying causes of these outcomes. The results of damage are more complicated to understand and address than the damage itself. Further, preventing the outcomes of damage without actually trying to repair the damage itself is likely to be somewhere between hard and impossible to achieve.
Aging is the leading risk factor for several age-associated diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding the biology of aging mechanisms is essential to the pursuit of brain health. In this regard, brain aging is defined by a gradual decrease in neurophysiological functions, impaired adaptive neuroplasticity, dysregulation of neuronal Ca2+ homeostasis, neuroinflammation, and oxidatively modified molecules and organelles.
Numerous pathways lead to brain aging, including increased oxidative stress, inflammation, disturbances in energy metabolism such as deregulated autophagy, mitochondrial dysfunction, and IGF-1, mTOR, ROS, AMPK, SIRTs, and p53 as central modulators of the metabolic control, connecting aging to the pathways, which lead to neurodegenerative disorders.
Also, calorie restriction (CR), physical exercise, and mental activities can extend lifespan and increase nervous system resistance to age-associated neurodegenerative diseases. The neuroprotective effect of CR involves increased protection against ROS generation, maintenance of cellular Ca2+ homeostasis, and inhibition of apoptosis. The recent evidence about the modem molecular and cellular methods in neurobiology to brain aging is exhibiting a significant potential in brain cells for adaptation to aging and resistance to neurodegenerative disorders.