2023-04-27 08:50:40
Chronological age and biological age are not the same. In most cases, the aging process begins in the early 20s with the first visible signs appearing around 30. From then on, things can evolve at a variable speed.
How and why the body ages and begins to show visible signs of aging has interested scientists the world over, ever since it was first discovered that the process can be prevented or slowed. In terms of coenzyme Q10, aging is one of the biggest and most interesting topics.
As humans age, the levels of coenzyme Q10 in our organs drop considerably. This decline is accompanied by a simultaneous drop in levels of IGF-1 (insulin growth factor 1), a compound that regulates bodily functions such as growth, tissue repair, and anabolism.
Aging is greatly influenced by lifestyle
The link between lifestyle and aging was clarified by Professor Kerstin Brismar of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm at the tenth conference of the International Coenzyme Q10 Association. Her leading hypothesis suggests that the body’s synthesis of coenzyme Q10 and IGF-1 go hand in hand. Thinner skin is one of the visible signs of decreased IGF-1 levels, and lower IGF-1 levels also affect the heart, circulatory system, lungs, hearing, vision, etc. , all the functions that are normally targets of the aging process.
Is it possible to counteract the drop in Q10 and IGF-1?
No doubt, said the Swedish professor, noting the fact that both Q10 and IGF-1 levels are positively affected by muscle activity and caloric restriction. According to Kerstin Brismark, 70 to 80 percent of the factors that determine our life expectancy are related to lifestyle, while genes only account for 20 to 30 percent.
Supplements Reduced Cardiac Mortality
Professor and cardiologist Urban Alehagen demonstrated that it is possible to slow down the aging process. He is the lead scientist behind the KiSel-10 study, which documented a 54 percent lower cardiovascular mortality rate among older people who received supplements of coenzyme Q10 and the trace element selenium, compared to the placebo group of the study.
The intervention period of this study was four years and during that period more than 50,000 blood samples were collected. Scientists have been able to use these blood samples later for additional studies looking at the effect of supplements at the cellular level.
Urban Alehagen accumulates graphs on various biomarkers that demonstrate how supplements can stop some of the mechanisms associated with aging. They were markers of inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, fibrosis, and apoptosis. The levels of the selected markers decreased in the supplemented group, while they increased in the placebo group. It was clearly demonstrated that nutrients such as selenium and Q10 could slow the normal signs of aging.
Professor Alehagen also refers to microRNA measurements and telomere length in the study. Here, significant differences were also observed between the active group and the placebo group and indicated that the supplements might slow down the aging process.
Participants who received selenium and Q10 supplements had longer telomeres than participants in the placebo group.
Is aging the result of oxidation or dysfunction?
Nils-Göran Larsson, a scientist at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, ended the conference’s aging theme by questioning oxidative damage as the main culprit in aging.
Instead, he looked at mitochondrial dysfunction, which is closely linked to the aging process. Mitochondria, which are the body’s energy-producing powerhouses, play a key role in the symptoms of aging.
Larsson said that mitochondrial DNA mutations likely occur due to replication errors, and claimed that it is these defects that are the underlying cause of the aging process. He does not see oxidative stress as the reason why our bodies gradually deteriorate and aging begins.
Many theories and discussions seen at the 10th ICQA conference suggest that science still has many undiscovered areas in the search for answers to some of the big questions about aging. M.T.T./ L.D.B.(SyM)
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