The aging population is steadily increasing worldwide and the world life expectancy (as of 2019) is reaching 72.6 years old. In Europe, it is predicted that the population aged 80 and over will increase by 2080, roughly doubling compared to 2014. The imbalance between the working-age population and old-age population due to aging and low birth rate is emerging as a new social risk, and it is believed that sufficient preparations to prepare for such social fluctuations are not yet in place.
Aging is associated with gradual loss of ability to maintain physiological homeostasis, due to dysfunction. Although increased physical activity and appropriate nutrition have beneficial effects for delaying aging as well as its associated chronic diseases, it is known that aging can be influenced by complex issues, making it difficult to control. Amongst the non-genetic factors, exercise, lifestyle, and nutrition are the only known modulators that can favorably influence healthy aging. Furthermore, nutrition is considered the single most potent factor that can mitigate some of the deleterious aspects of aging including predisposition to diseases, and thus a novel discipline called ‘nutrigerontology’ has recently been emphasized.
The various physiological traits of aging follow “hallmarks of aging”, including: cellular senescence, deregulated nutrient-sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic alterations, altered intracellular communication, genomic instability, telomere attrition, loss of proteostasis, and stem cell exhaustion. Emerging studies demonstrate that nutritional elements including macro- and micro-nutrients can influence various aspects of cellular senescence by protecting cells from a) permanently losing the capacity to divide and entering a stable cell cycle arrest, b) altered nutrient-sensing pathways by providing just the right amount of nutrition, c) disturbed mitochondrial functions by regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and d) epigenetic alterations by reversibly altering DNA methylation status and histone modifications. Thus, understanding the molecular pathways and targets of aging hallmarks opens up the unique and important opportunity to develop food bioactive compounds against age-associated diseases.
This Research Topic therefore welcomes submissions including but not limited to the following themes:
• Dietary interventions using food bioactive compounds to delay, prevent or reverse age-associated diseases and their mechanisms based on regulating aging hallmarks including; cellular senescence, deregulated nutrient-sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic alterations;
• Targeting inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and neurodegenerative diseases using food bioactive compounds in gut-(liver/adipose tissue/skeletal muscle)-brain axis
• Investigation of small molecules in food that play a role in extending lifespan, in cellular models to C. elegans, Drosophila, rodents and humans
We welcome submissions as original research articles and reviews, including mini review.
The aging population is steadily increasing worldwide and the world life expectancy (as of 2019) is reaching 72.6 years old. In Europe, it is predicted that the population aged 80 and over will increase by 2080, roughly doubling compared to 2014. The imbalance between the working-age population and old-age population due to aging and low birth rate is emerging as a new social risk, and it is believed that sufficient preparations to prepare for such social fluctuations are not yet in place.
Aging is associated with gradual loss of ability to maintain physiological homeostasis, due to dysfunction. Although increased physical activity and appropriate nutrition have beneficial effects for delaying aging as well as its associated chronic diseases, it is known that aging can be influenced by complex issues, making it difficult to control. Amongst the non-genetic factors, exercise, lifestyle, and nutrition are the only known modulators that can favorably influence healthy aging. Furthermore, nutrition is considered the single most potent factor that can mitigate some of the deleterious aspects of aging including predisposition to diseases, and thus a novel discipline called ‘nutrigerontology’ has recently been emphasized.
The various physiological traits of aging follow “hallmarks of aging”, including: cellular senescence, deregulated nutrient-sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic alterations, altered intracellular communication, genomic instability, telomere attrition, loss of proteostasis, and stem cell exhaustion. Emerging studies demonstrate that nutritional elements including macro- and micro-nutrients can influence various aspects of cellular senescence by protecting cells from a) permanently losing the capacity to divide and entering a stable cell cycle arrest, b) altered nutrient-sensing pathways by providing just the right amount of nutrition, c) disturbed mitochondrial functions by regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and d) epigenetic alterations by reversibly altering DNA methylation status and histone modifications. Thus, understanding the molecular pathways and targets of aging hallmarks opens up the unique and important opportunity to develop food bioactive compounds against age-associated diseases.
This Research Topic therefore welcomes submissions including but not limited to the following themes:
• Dietary interventions using food bioactive compounds to delay, prevent or reverse age-associated diseases and their mechanisms based on regulating aging hallmarks including; cellular senescence, deregulated nutrient-sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic alterations;
• Targeting inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and neurodegenerative diseases using food bioactive compounds in gut-(liver/adipose tissue/skeletal muscle)-brain axis
• Investigation of small molecules in food that play a role in extending lifespan, in cellular models to C. elegans, Drosophila, rodents and humans
We welcome submissions as original research articles and reviews, including mini review.
