A new way to look at aging

     Researchers at The University of Kansas
seek to redefine the way we look at aging.
 

     Researchers within several science departments of the University continue to work on the study entitled "Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Aging." Researchers work in labs in Malott Hall, the Higuchi Biosciences Center, and at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
   

    Kevin Boatright, director of communications at the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, said funding for the study comes from the National Institute of Health. The NIH has extended the study with a five-year, $7.5 million grant. The NIH funded the grant for 10 years prior.

    Boatright said researchers sought to discover how to slow or even reverse the aging process.
   

    Elias Michaelis, principal investigator of the research and professor of pharmacology and toxicology, said the study aimed at challenging the traditional scientific ways of thinking about aging. The study began by looking at how the body reacts to calcium but soon shifted to proteins and amino acids.

    Michaelis said the study continues to look at specific proteins found within the body's cells and discover how the process of oxidation affects their use. He said that people are constantly exposed to damaging oxygen molecules throughout their lives. The human body has a self-regulatory system that routinely works against the process of oxidation and repairs the cells. But as the human body ages, this system becomes less reliable and more oxidation occurs within the cells.

    The study focuses on brain and muscle cells in order for scientists to understand how these cells decay with age. Researchers use rat and mice tissue samples and human tissue samples from the Med Center. The rats and mice also receive gene therapy and gene testing in order to understand how the presence or absence of different amino acids affect the muscle and brain cells.

    Michaelis credited the longevity of the grant to his fellow researchers and students.

    "To have a study funded for 15 years really speaks to the kind of results we are getting," Michaelis said.

    Jackob Moskovitz, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology, said the research could help to find new treatments for age-related diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

    Moskovitz said that understanding the way amino acids work within our cells could help researchers find ways to reverse or inhibit age-related diseases.

    Moskovitz said that oxidation erodes away the cells ability to function normally.

    "Because we breathe in air, we are constantly bombarded. " Moskovitz said.

    Moskovitz said that this research could help scientists identify which damaged proteins led to decreased cell functioning. By pointing to one protein or a group of proteins, scientists could use gene therapy to alter the eroding proteins.

    "If we know how to reduce the risk of these age-related diseases, then maybe you would have to take 10 pills a day, but at least you would have a high quality of life," Moskovitz said.

    At the very least, Moskovitz said scientists hoped to create a diagnostic tool to identify at-risk individuals.

    Todd Williams, director of mass spectrometry and the analytical proteomics laboratory at the Higuchi Biosciences Center, said the tangible signs of aging like decreased bone density and cognitive performance are not signs of aging at all.

    Williams attributes these symptoms to the breakdown of the cell's ability to repair and control the influence of oxidation. Because not all adults experience the same symptoms scientists can not attribute them to aging alone. While the malfunctioning of the cells usually occur at older age, it can happen at any age.

    Williams said these things are age-related like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. But, he said scientist could not attribute these diseases solely to a person's age.

    Williams said that that many people think of aging as a chronological age. But he said that scientists look at aging through the breakdown of the cell's ability to self-regulate against oxygen and calcium. The level of cell damage ranges in individuals regardless of age. Williams attributes this variance to lifestyle and genetics.

    Williams said he hoped people would understand that the longevity of their own lives was mostly in their own hands.

   "Everyone wants to know how to live longer. There are only two proven ways to increase your lifespan: You must have parents that lived very long, and you must put yourself on a near-starvation, calorie-restrictive diet. We are not going to find a magic pill that extends your lifespan," Williams said.