The 12 Hallmarks of Aging: Understanding How and Why We Age

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 Instability increases when we are aging. The rate of mutations, rearrangements and changes on our genetic materials increases. The instability can lead to elevated risk of DNA replication/ repair errors leading to various health issues including cancers. 

 With each cell division, telomere naturally shorten. Eventually, when they become too short, cells can stop dividing or become senescent. This leads to disrupted tissue function and contributing to many age-related diseases. 

 Changes in the structure of chemical markers attached to our DNA, can lead to abnormal gene expression without altering genetic code.  This process explains how the genes are turned on or off. 

The failure in maintaining proper protein folding, assembly and degradation within cells. When this balance is disturbed, it leads to cellular and organ level dysfunction such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. 

Our body’s ability to detect and respond to nutrients like glucose, amino acids or fatty acids becomes disrupted. This situation can lead to metabolic dysfunction which is the main cause of conditions such as diabetes and obesity and negatively affects epigenetics. 

 The dysfunction of the powerhouse of our cells (mitochondria) is a situation when too little energy is produced. This negatively affects organs and systems throughout the body, which then leads to the accumulation of damaging byproducts. 

 This state is when our cells stop dividing and enter a permanent cell cycle arrest (zombie cell) and leads to inflammation.  It often occurs as a response to stress, toxin exposure, gene damages, etc. 

 Ability of stem cells to regenerate declines over time. This limits tissue and organ repair. 

 When our body is aging, there are changes in signaling pathways between cells, which can potentially lead to abnormal cell function, disease development or improper response to external stimuli within the body. 

 Chronic, low grade, systemic inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development of atherosclerotic heart diseases, cancer and neurodegenerative condition e.g. Alzheimer’s disease. 

 Macroautophagy is a cellular process, responsible for removing and recycling damaged cell components. When this process is disrupted, it can lead to the accumulation of waste in our cells, potentially contributing to diseases, including neurodegenerative conditions and metabolic disorders. 

 Imbalance of natural microbial community, reduction of beneficial kind and overgrowth of the harmful kind leads to brain dysfunction, poor immune health, and chronic inflammation.