The Biomarkers of Aging

The biomarkers of aging are a set of bodily functions and conditions that tend to change with age. They are the same in humans as they are in non-human primates such as rhesus macaques. Frequent measurement of these biomarkers in calorie-restricted animals and animals allowed to eat ad lib, permits scientists to identify and measure the effects of diet on the process of aging. These biomarkers include:

• Cardiovascular health – The heart weakens with age and the network of arteries that circulate blood can accumulate deposits that choke off the flow of blood.
• Glucose regulation – With age, some people develop diabetes, a chronic disease involving an insulin deficiency and a loss of the body’s ability to regulate sugar in blood and urine.
• Brain function – Many changes occur in brain cells and function over time. Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s manifest themselves in the older body.
• Muscle and skeletal health – Muscles atrophy and bones weaken with age.
• Endorcrine function – The body’s system of glands, which secrete helpful chemicals into the blood, becomes less efficient with time.
• The immune system – The natural system of defenses mounted by the body to combat foreign organisms like viruses, bacteria and parasites begins to let down its guard as we grow old.
• Oxidative stress – Life-giving oxygen, paradoxically, can be bad for health. Oxygen sometimes manifests itself as free radicals, toxic ionized oxygen molecules that roam cells disrupting other molecules in a cascade of cellular events that may be at the very root of the aging process.