Causes of accelerated aging. Premature aging. Influence of free radicals

Mankind has not yet learned to deal with all ailments. Progeria, or premature aging syndrome, should also be attributed to the number of incurable diseases.

What is premature aging syndrome

For the first time, progeria was talked about relatively recently. This is not surprising, because the disease is extremely rare - 1 time in 4-8 million people. The disease occurs at the genetic level. The aging process is accelerated by approximately 8-10 times. There are no more than 350 examples of the development of progeria in the world.

The disease affects males more than females (1.2:1).

The disease is characterized strong delay in growth (manifested from an early age), changes in the structure of the skin, lack of hair and secondary sexual characteristics, as well as cachexia (exhaustion of the body). The internal organs are often not fully developed, and the person looks much older than his real age.

Progeria is genetic disease which is manifested by underdevelopment and premature aging of the body

The mental state of an individual suffering from progeria corresponds to biological age.

Progeria is not curable and is the cause of atherosclerosis ( chronic disease arteries), which eventually leads to heart attacks and strokes. The result of pathology is a lethal outcome.

Forms of the disease

Progeria is characterized by premature withering of the body or its underdevelopment. The disease involves:

• children's form (Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome);
• adult form (Werner's syndrome).

Progeria in children is congenital, but most often the first signs of the disease appear in the second or third year of life.

Progeria in adults is different. The disease can suddenly overtake an individual aged 14-18 years. The prognosis in this case is also unfavorable and leads to death.

Video: progeria, or young old people

Reasons for the development of progeria

The exact causes of progeria have not yet been found. There is an assumption that the etiology of the development of the disease is directly related to the violation of metabolic processes in the connective tissue. Fibroblasts begin to grow by cell division and the appearance of excess collagen with low association of glycosaminoglycans. Slow formation of fibroblasts is an indicator of the pathology of intercellular matter.

Causes of Progeria in Children

The reason for the development of progeria syndrome in children is changes in the LMNA gene. It is he who is responsible for encoding lamin A. We are talking about a human protein from which one of the layers of the cell nucleus is created.

Often, progeria is expressed sporadically (randomly). Sometimes the disease is observed in siblings (descendants from the same parents), especially in related marriages by blood. This fact indicates a potential autosomal recessive form of inheritance (manifested exclusively in homozygotes who received one recessive gene from each parent).

When studying the skin of carriers of the disease, cells were recorded in which the ability to repair damage in DNA was impaired, as well as to reproduce genetically homogeneous fibroblasts and change the depleted dermis. As a result subcutaneous tissue tends to disappear without a trace.

It was also recorded that the studied Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome is related to pathologies in carrier cells. The latter are simply unable to fully get rid of DNA compounds that cause chemical agents. When cells with the described syndrome were found, experts found that they were not characterized by full division.

There are also suggestions that childhood progeria belongs to an autosomal dominant mutation that occurs de novo, or without signs of inheritance. She was ranked among the indirect signs of the development of the disease, the basis of which included measurements of telomeres (end sections of chromosomes) in the owners of the syndrome, their close relatives and donors. In this case, an autosomal recessive form of inheritance is also seen. There is a theory that the process provokes a violation of DNA repair (the ability of cells to correct chemical damage, as well as gaps in molecules).

Causes of Progeria in Adults

Progeria in an adult organism is characterized by autosomal recessive inheritance with a mutational gene for ATP-dependent helicase or WRN. There is a hypothesis that in the unifying chain there are failures between DNA repair and metabolic processes in the connective tissue.

Since this form of the disease is extremely rare, it remains only to guess what type of inheritance it has. It is similar to Cockayne syndrome (a rare neurodegenerative disorder marked by lack of growth, disorders in the development of the central nervous system, premature aging, and other symptoms) and manifests itself as separate signs early aging.

Symptoms of early aging

The symptoms of progeria manifest themselves in a complex way. The disease can be recognized at an early stage, since its signs are pronounced.

Symptoms of early aging disease in children

At birth, babies who carry the deadly progeria gene are indistinguishable from healthy babies. However, by the age of 1 year, certain symptoms of the disease manifest themselves. These include:

• lack of weight, growth retardation;
• lack of hair on the body, including on the face;
• lack of subcutaneous fat reserves;
• insufficient tone in the skin, as a result of which it sags and becomes overgrown with wrinkles;
• bluish skin tone;
• increased pigmentation;
• strongly manifested veins in the head;
• disproportionate development of the bones of the skull, small lower jaw, bulging eyes, protruding ear shells, hooked nose. For a child with progeria, a "bird" grimace is characteristic. It is the described list of peculiar characteristics that makes children outwardly similar to older people;
• late teething, which in a short time lose their healthy appearance;
• shrill as well as high voice;
• pear-shaped chest, small collarbones, tight knee joints, as well as the elbow, which, due to insufficient mobility, force the patient to take the position of the "rider";
• protruding or protruding yellow nails;
• sclerotic formations or seals on the skin of the buttocks, thighs and lower abdomen.

When a small patient suffering from progeria turns 5 years old, inexorable processes of atherosclerosis formation begin to occur in his body, in which the aorta, mesenteric, and also coronary arteries suffer greatly. Against the background of the described failures, heart murmurs and hypertrophy (a significant increase in the mass and volume of the organ) appear in the left ventricle. The cumulative effect of these serious disorders in the body is a key reason for the low life expectancy of carriers of the syndrome. The underlying factor that provokes the rapid death of children with progeria is myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke.

Symptoms of early aging in adults

A carrier of progeria begins to quickly lose kilograms, stun in growth, turn gray and soon go bald. The patient's skin becomes thin, loses its healthy shade. Under the surface of the epidermis, blood vessels are clearly visible, as well as subcutaneous fat. The muscles in this disease atrophy almost in full, as a result of which the legs and arms look unnecessarily emaciated.

In patients who have crossed the age limit of 30 years, both eyes are destroyed by cataracts (clouding of the lens), the voice becomes noticeably weaker, the skin over the bone tissue loses its softness, and then becomes covered with ulcerative lesions. Carriers of the progeria syndrome usually resemble each other in appearance. They are distinguished:

• small growth;
• moon-shaped type of face;
• "bird" nose;
• thin lips;
• strongly prominent chin;
• a strong, knocked-down body and dry, thin limbs, which are disfigured by generously manifesting pigmentation.

The disease is distinguished by arrogance and interferes with the work of all body systems:

• the activity of sweat and sebaceous glands is disrupted;
• distorted normal function of cardio-vascular system;
• calcification occurs.
• osteoporosis appears (decrease in density bone tissue) and erosive osteoarthritis (irreversible processes in the joints).

Unlike the child form, the adult form also has a detrimental effect on mental abilities.

Approximately 10% of patients by the age of 40 come into contact with such serious ailments like a sarcoma malignancy in tissues), breast cancer, as well as astrocytoma (brain tumor) and melanoma (skin cancer). Oncology progresses based on high blood sugar and malfunctions in the functions of the parathyroid glands. Key reasons mortality in adults with progeria are most often cancers or cardiovascular disorders.

Diagnostics

The external signs of the manifestation of the disease are so obvious and vivid that the syndrome is diagnosed based on the clinical picture.

The disease can be detected even before the birth of the child. This became possible thanks to the found progeria gene. However, since the disease is not transmitted through generations (this is a sporadic or single mutation), the likelihood that two children with this rare disease will be born within the same family is extremely small. After the progeria gene was discovered, the detection of the syndrome became much faster and more accurate.

At present, changes at the gene level are identifiable. Special programs, or electronic diagnostic tests, have been created. At the moment, it is quite realistic to prove and substantiate individual mutational formations in the gene, which subsequently lead to progeria.

Science is developing rapidly, and scientists are already working on the final scientific method for diagnosing progeria in children. The described development will contribute to even earlier, as well as accurate diagnosis. Today, in medical institutions, children with such a diagnosis are examined only externally, and then they take tests and a blood sample for testing.

If symptoms of progeria are detected, it is urgent to seek advice from an endocrinologist and undergo a comprehensive examination.

Progeria treatment

Up to this day effective method there is no cure for progeria. Therapy is characterized by a symptomatic line, with the prevention of consequences and complications following the progress of atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and ulcerative formations. For an anabolic effect (acceleration of the process of cell renewal), somatotropic hormone is prescribed, which is designed to increase weight and body length in patients. The therapeutic course is carried out by several specialists at once, such as an endocrinologist, cardiologist, internist, oncologist, as well as others, based on the symptoms prevailing at a particular moment.

In 2006, scientists from America recorded clear progress in the fight against progeria as an incurable disease. The researchers introduced into the culture of mutating fibroblasts a farnesyl transferase inhibitor (a substance that suppresses or delays the course of physiological or physico-chemical processes), which had previously been tested on cancer patients. As a result of the procedure, the mutation cells acquired their usual shape. The carriers of the disease tolerated the created drug well, so there is hope that in the near future it will become possible to use the remedy in practice. Thus, it will be possible to exclude progeria even in early age. The effectiveness of Lonafarnib (a farnesyl transferase inhibitor) lies in increasing the amount of subcutaneous fat in total mass body, as well as bone mineralization. As a result, it turns out to reduce the number of injuries to a minimum.

There is an opinion that similar means are capable of helping in curing the disease, as in the fight against cancer. But these are only assumptions and hypotheses, not confirmed by facts.

Therapy of patients today is reduced to:

• providing ongoing continuous care;
• special diet;
• cardiac care;
• physical support.

In progeria, treatment is exclusively supportive and focuses on correcting changes that occur in the tissues or organs of the patient. The methods used are not always effective. However, doctors do their best. Patients are under continuous supervision by medical professionals.

Only by monitoring the function of the cardiovascular system is it possible to timely diagnose the development of complications and prevent their progress. All treatment methods are focused around a single goal - to stop the disease and not give it a chance to worsen, as well as to alleviate the general condition of the carrier of the syndrome, as far as the potential of modern medicine allows.

Treatment may include:

• the use of aspirin in the minimum dosage, which can reduce the risk of developing a heart attack or stroke;
• the use of other medicines that are prescribed to the patient privately based on the present symptoms and his well-being. For example, drugs from the statin group reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood, and anticoagulants resist the formation of blood clots. Often a hormone is used that can increase growth and weight;
• the use of physiotherapy or procedures designed to develop joints that are difficult to flex, thereby allowing the patient to maintain activity;
• elimination of milk teeth. A peculiar feature of the disease contributes to the premature appearance of molars in children, while milk teeth must be removed on time.

Based on the fact that progeria is genetic or random, then preventive measures as such, there are none.

Treatment prognosis

The prognosis for carriers of the progeria syndrome is poor. Averaged indicators say that patients most often live only up to 13 years, subsequently dying from hemorrhages or heart attacks, malignant neoplasms or atherosclerotic complications.

Progeria is incurable. Therapy is in development. There is no definitive proof of a cure yet. However, medicine is developing rapidly, so it is likely that patients with progeria will have a chance for a normal and long life.

Premature (accelerated) aging: causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment

CHEBOTAREV Dmitry Fedorovich

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor.
Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, member of the German Academy of Natural Sciences Leopoldina.
Honorary member of the national societies of gerontologists in Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Brazil and other countries.
Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine.
Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine.
Author of 310 scientific papers.

KORKUSHKO Oleg Vasilievich

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
Head of the Department of Clinical Physiology and Pathology of Internal Organs of the Institute of Gerontology of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.
Member of the Presidium of the Board of the Ukrainian Society of Gerontologists and Geriatricians, Member of the Board of the Ukrainian Scientific Society of Cardiology, Honorary Member of the Gerontologists' Societies of Germany and Bulgaria.
Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine.
Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine.
Author of more than 450 scientific papers.

Shatilo Valery Bronislavovich

Doctor of Medical Sciences.
Leading Researcher departments of clinical physiology and pathology of internal organs.
Head of the therapeutic department of the Institute of Gerontology of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.
Author of 190 scientific papers.

Aging is a complex biological process that reflects one of the aspects of the development of a living organism, its development over time; the process is internally contradictory, uniting both regressive tendencies and progressive ones (the formation of new adaptive mechanisms).

It is known that human aging in the vast majority of cases occurs according to the premature (accelerated) type. living conditions modern society, diseases that are widespread in the second half of life (atherosclerosis, ischemic, hypertension, etc.), accelerating the aging process, lead to premature aging and death before reaching the species biological limit of life. Therefore, prevention, early detection and treatment pathological processes is an important point in the complex of measures aimed at the prevention of premature aging. At the same time, this problem continues to be actively discussed among scientists to this day; diametrically opposed views are expressed on this issue.

In modern gerontological literature, the terms "physiological" and "premature" aging are widely used, but the issue of these two types of aging has been discussed for almost a hundred years. The legitimacy of distinguishing the physiological type of aging and physiological old age, as well as premature (accelerated) type of aging is discussed in the works of S.P. Botkin, I.I. Mechnikov, A.A. Bogomolets, N.D. Strazhesko, D.F. Chebotarev, O.V.Korkushko, V.P.Voitenko, A.V.Tokar, N.B.Mankovsky, V.V.Frolkis, F.Bourliere, V.Korenchevsky, W.F.Anderson and other researchers.

The literature contains numerous data on changes in the organs and systems of the body in the process of natural, physiological aging. The situation is completely different with the study of premature aging, which is the main, most common form of aging in people over the age of 40-50 years.

Despite the complexity of identifying the syndrome of premature aging, the need to study it is due to clinical practice and the importance of clarifying the causes and mechanisms of premature aging, its main indicators and ways of therapeutic and prophylactic effects.

The WHO seminar on problems of gerontology, held in 1963, was devoted to the criteria of physiological and premature aging. in Kyiv. In accordance with his resolution, physiological aging means the natural onset and gradual development of senile changes that are characteristic of a given species and limit the body's ability to adapt to the environment. Premature aging is to be understood as any partial or more general acceleration in the rate of aging that results in an individual "ahead" of the average level of aging of the healthy group of people to which he belongs. It was emphasized that the physiological and premature aging due to the influence of both internal factors (including genetic) and environmental factors. Naturally, for each of these types of aging, the influence of these factors is completely different.

The complexity and controversy of a clear definition of the syndrome of premature aging is due to the fact that we still do not fully know the mechanisms, the sequence of processes that develop during physiological aging. In any case, it can be assumed that the factors leading to premature aging can be switched on at different stages of the development of physiological aging, modifying its mechanisms and manifestations, affecting the rate and nature of the development of senile changes.

Thus, premature aging should be understood as age-related changes occurring earlier than in healthy people of the same age. In other words, with premature aging, the biological age (BV) of a person is ahead of his calendar age (CA).

The main difficulties arise when trying to determine the essence of premature aging, its mechanisms and ways of development. Two different approaches are possible here. On the first approach early development signs of old age is considered regardless of the cause that caused it. Indeed, clinicians are well aware of various pathological processes leading to fairly rapid decrepitude, early onset external signs, typical for older people, functional and structural changes in organs and systems that accompany the disease and aggravate it. Suffice it to recall how much older than their years, even outwardly, patients with coronary heart disease, COPD, peptic ulcer, diabetes mellitus, etc. Emotional overstrain, mental stress, exposure to radioactive substances and many other factors are often the cause of premature and rapid development of senile changes.

Proponents of a different point of view believe that the occurrence of early signs of old age (accelerated aging) is not associated with any specific diseases or external causes, but is due to peculiar endocrine-metabolic shifts. However, such an understanding can hardly find wide support, since what is currently due to limited diagnostic capabilities can not be identified, in the future it may turn out to be quite provable.

It seems to us that it is more productive and of particular practical significance to study premature aging in the aspect of those diseases or pathological conditions that modify and complicate the aging process, lead to early and rapid decrepitude and disability.

characteristic feature Premature aging is a more pronounced limitation of the adaptive capabilities of the body, which, however, decrease during normal, physiological aging. This, ultimately, can lead to a sharp reduction in the reserve capacity of the functioning of the organs and systems of the body. With premature aging, some structural and functional age-related changes not only accelerate, but sometimes acquire a character opposite to that observed during physiological aging.

Considering various aspects physiological and premature aging, one should not lose sight of the heterochrony of body changes. With premature aging, as a rule, uneven changes in the organs and systems of the body are exacerbated.

It is noted that there are quantitative differences between physiological and premature aging (large unevenness of age-related changes, further limitation of compensatory mechanisms in premature aging), however, these quantitative changes give, in fact, a new quality. If physiological aging is a natural, biologically determined process, then premature aging is a deviation from the natural course of this process associated with various factors that can be known, studied and to some extent eliminated.

In the event that the factors that caused premature aging are still difficult to eliminate at this stage of the development of science, society, then it is possible to successfully influence those changes in organs and systems that are due to the influence of these factors. Considering the issue of physiological and premature aging, it should be noted that the prediction of age-related changes in the human body should be based not on calendar, but on biological age (BV). Comparison of biological and calendar age gives an objective idea of ​​the rate of aging and possible life expectancy.

From a huge number of risk factors for premature aging, endogenous (diseases, heredity) and exogenous, environmental factors (physical inactivity, mental stress, overnutrition, bad habits, environmental pollution, etc.) can be distinguished. Accelerating the aging process, they can lead to incomplete use of the species biological limit of life by a person. One of the main factors determining life expectancy, the type of human aging, is undoubtedly a social factor that characterizes the whole complex range of environmental impact on the human body. The transformations of nature and society contributed, on the one hand, to improving the health of the population and a sharp increase in life expectancy, and on the other hand, they led to the emergence of additional risk factors for premature aging.

Among the diseases of the cardiovascular system, which are one of the main causes of premature aging, atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension should be distinguished first of all. Chronic nonspecific lung diseases, leading to hypoxia, adversely affect the oxygen supply of tissues, contribute to the development pronounced changes. Premature aging is promoted by chronic diseases of the stomach and liver, pathology of the nervous and endocrine systems- diabetes mellitus, hypo- and hyperthyroidism, obesity, adrenal tumors, etc. There are known cases of progeria, when a change in the appearance and activity of internal organs, characteristic of aging, is noted even at an early age.

Premature aging can be hereditary. A certain role in this case belongs to hereditary burden (cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, etc.).

Moreover, many researchers have noted a positive correlation between life expectancy and the frequency of family longevity. Attention is also drawn to the fact that among people whose parents were short-lived, increased mortality was noted in all age groups.

According to the adaptive-regulatory theory of aging V.V. Frolkis, integral part which is the genoregulatory hypothesis a, primary changes in the process of aging are associated with shifts in the regulation of the genome a. Recognition of the connection between aging and impaired implementation of hereditary information, in the author's opinion, makes it promising to search for means to increase life expectancy.

The restriction of human motor activity, or physical inactivity, due to the prevalence and variety of causes that cause it, has a general biological and social significance in the era of scientific and technological progress. Together with an increase in the intensity of neuropsychic activity, hypodynamia (hypokinesia) contributes to the development and increase in many diseases, as well as premature aging.

A huge amount of factual material on the aging of the human body makes it possible at the present time to at least two indisputable conclusions: firstly, with aging, muscle performance decreases, and secondly, the nature of the reactions of various functional systems to muscle load changes. These changes are based on disturbances in various parts of the regulation of motor behavior: a decrease in the intensity of recovery processes, lability of myoneural synapse a, a weakening of sympathetic nerve influences on blood vessels and an increase in their sensitivity to humoral factors, a decrease in trophic effects, a weakening of the influence of pessimal, reciprocal inhibition on recovery processes. etc.

Most physiologists, hygienists and gerontologists now believe that the functional load of the organs and systems of an aging organism, by maintaining a sufficiently high level of motor activity, not only prevents premature aging, but also contributes to the functional, structural improvement of organs and tissues.

Studies have shown that muscle activity is a source of powerful stimulating effects on metabolism, has a mobilizing effect on the reflex and humoral mechanisms for providing the internal environment.

In the elderly and senile age, hypokinesia has a particularly negative effect on the functional state of various organs and systems, the course of metabolic processes. At this age, it is created, as it were, vicious circle- aging limits human muscle activity, and age-related hypokinesia, in turn, can contribute to the development of premature aging.

Bad influence physical inactivity can be explained from the standpoint of modern ideas about the significance of motor-visceral reflexes. Based on this concept, each movement is not only the result of nerve impulses, but also the cause of many signals coming from the motor apparatus to various organs and systems of the body. They are transmitted to the circulatory and respiratory organs, stimulating their work, accelerating metabolic and energy processes. Such a kind of return of each motor act carries a trophic charge, enhancing the recovery processes, promoting the renewal of active tissues, increasing their functionality.

Our clinical and physiological studies indicate that people who systematically engage in physical labor, physical education, decrease much more slowly. muscle strength, physical performance, high tolerance to physical activity is maintained. The value of physical activity cannot be reduced to a simple replenishment of the deficit of movements. With the help of muscle work, you can not only change the state of the body as a whole, but also influence its individual functions. During muscular activity, reflex influence working muscles on internal organs. This provides an adequate balance between the intensity of muscle activity and the level of tissue metabolism, the state of the most important functional systems.

With aging, metabolic processes are weakened, the intensity of redox reactions decreases. This feature is largely due to a decrease in the activity of enzyme systems that ensure the use of oxygen by tissues. At the same time, studies show that under the influence of systematic physical exercises, metabolic processes are intensified, the efficiency of using oxygen increases, and the "oxygen cost" of the work performed decreases. An active motor mode has a positive effect on the central nervous system, significantly improves the state of the cardiovascular system, increases the adaptability of the circulatory organs to physical stress, and resistance to stressful situations. Thus, physical activity is the most important condition for normal, physiological aging. In addition, physical training is an important direction in the prevention of accelerated aging, as evidenced by the results of our many years of research.

Overstrain of the nervous system, often repeated stressful situations that cause dysregulation, functional, and then structural changes in various physiological systems organisms contribute significantly to the development pathological abnormalities and thus premature aging. In this regard, the experimental data relating to the simulation of accelerated aging of animals by experimental neurosis deserve attention.

This is also confirmed by clinical data: permanent psycho-emotional stress is one of the risk factors for the development coronary disease hearts, hypertension and promotes premature aging. This is especially clearly revealed in persons engaged in intense mental work.

Among many environmental factors, nutrition is of great importance. Changing nutrition has a significant impact on the functional state of the body and metabolism. Malnutrition is often the cause of the development of serious diseases, among which a special place belongs to atherosclerosis as one of the main risk factors for premature aging. It is noted that obesity shortens life expectancy by 6-8 years.

It should be emphasized that not only energy imbalance plays a role in the development of pathological processes and premature aging, but also the imbalance of individual food components, since tolerance to both carbohydrates and fats decreases with age. Therefore, rationally built nutrition in childhood and adolescence lays the foundations for active longevity. No less important is its importance in the elderly and senile age, when metabolic processes, body weight, physical activity change, and age-related diseases appear. Balance is an important principle of gerodietetics. energy value diet and energy expenditure of the body.

Clinical and epidemiological observations in recent years show that an important risk factor for premature aging is smoking, often acting synergistically with other major risk factors - dyslipoproteinemia and arterial hypertension.

From all of the above, it follows that the most important task of modern gerontology is the fight against premature (accelerated) aging of a person, for the maximum use of his biological life limits. In this regard, at the present stage, an important task of clinical gerontology is to determine the biological age (BV) of a person. The need to find adequate criteria and methods for determining the BV of an individual is associated with the solution of many medical and social issues, including determining the individual rate of aging, long-term planning of medical care, and the correct use of the residual working capacity of older people. BV data is needed for correct assessment changes in organs and systems of an aging person, his state of health, detection of premature aging. Using the BV indicators of an individual, it is possible to objectively assess the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing the manifestations of aging and its rate.

The concept of BV involves a description of the quantitative characteristics of age-related changes in various organs and systems, metabolic processes at their various levels (organ, cellular, subcellular), regulatory mechanisms that ensure the viability of the organism.

There are many definitions of BV. According to D.F. Chebotarev, A.Ya. Mints, O.V. Korkushko, A.Ya. Mints, O.V. Korkushko, D.F. V.P. Voitenko et al. , A.V. Tokarya et al. , V.V. Frolkis, N.Shock (1978), BV reflects the functional capabilities of the body, its performance, viability. According to V.P. Voitenko and co-authors, BV is a measure of the systemic disintegration of the body in the process of aging. A.V. Tokar and co-authors believe that BV, on the one hand, is a retrospective assessment of an individual and characterizes him from the standpoint of the passed part of the life cycle; on the other hand, it is a prospective (prognostic) indicator reflecting the probability of natural death in a certain period of time.

According to V.V. Frolkis, BV represents the degree of age-related changes in the biological capabilities of the organism at each stage of ontogeny, and biological capabilities that determined the past and future life expectancy. Defining BV as the degree of viability of an organism achieved in ontogeny, it is justified to express it as the duration of the forthcoming life, as the probability of death in a certain period of time.

Many researchers, along with the determination of BV of the body as a whole (integral BV), offer, depending on the tasks, to determine the BV of its systems - nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, etc. - and even isolate cellular BV. Moreover, some distinguish psychological, intellectual, social age person.

So, BV should be considered as a mathematical model of the functional capabilities of the body, its performance, in other words, viability. With the physiological aging of an individual, his BV and KB, of course, must coincide. The discrepancy in the indicators of BV and KB makes it possible to determine the degree of progression of the aging of the individual and the change in his functional capabilities.

In the world gerontological literature there are a large number of works devoted to the description of various changes in organs and systems in older people, the average age values ​​of individual indicators for certain age groups are given. All these data are a significant contribution to clinical gerontology, contribute to the discovery of the mechanisms of senile changes and complement our understanding of the clinical and physiological characteristics of the late stage of human ontogeny. However, it must be emphasized that not every indicator of the functional state of certain organs and systems can be used to determine BV. It should be emphasized that only those indicators that change significantly with age are suitable for determining BV. At the same time, the dynamics of the studied indicator in the compared successive age groups should reflect more significant differences than the spread within the same age group.

An important methodological problem is the selection of an adequate group of people for testing tests that are supposed to be used to determine BV. Since at present, premature aging due to external environmental influences is most often observed, we are in the position of developing standards according to the random sampling method in a group of healthy people of different ages and gender of the corresponding region (climatogeographic zone). A.Comfort (1972), N.Shock (1978) adhere to the same opinion. In the same time. V.P. Voitenko, A.V. Tokar, V.P. Voitenko et al. , A.M. Polyukhov suggest using tests to determine BV based on the population average. However, one can hardly agree with such a situation, since the very concept of the norm is based on the heterogeneity of the contingent. This is especially true for older people. With this approach, the calculated indicator reflects in this particular period of time not the norm, but the state of health of a particular study population, which can vary significantly depending on social conditions, the environmental situation, and the state of medical care.

The complexity of choosing tests for determining BV lies in the fact that the aging of the body is characterized by heterochrony, heterotropism, and multidirectionality.

To determine BV, it is important to take into account indicators, the change of which is closely related to BV and reflects the viability of the organism.

In this regard, the reliability of tests used to determine biological age is assessed by the value of correlation with BC: the higher the correlation, the more reliable the test. The reliability of the test taken should be understood as the constancy, reproducibility of individual differences established on its basis.

It should be emphasized that data on the information content of the most common models for determining BV, which are based on multiple linear regression between BV and aging markers, have not yet been summarized. The mathematical meaning of multiple regression is to determine BV by the totality of aging markers.

Based on the literature data and our own research, the following requirements are imposed on the tests used to determine BV.

1. Tests should carry information about the functional state of the organ, system, metabolic processes, regulatory features of the body.
2. The test should correlate with age.
3. The test should not only have a quantitative assessment (characteristic), but also be reliable, i.e., with repeated studies after a short period of time of the same individual, it should give comparable results.
4. The informativeness of one or another indicator used to determine BV depends on its connection with other indicators. The lower the correlation of one indicator with others, the higher the information value of each of them in the assessment of BV.
5. Tests should be suitable for use in persons of any age and, if possible, simple, quick to perform.
6. The set of proposed tests should include functional loads. Thus, a high correlation with the age of the test for performance and maximum oxygen uptake (J. Dirken, 1972) indicates the expediency of including them to determine BV. At the same time, it should be pointed out that the determination of maximum working capacity is very difficult for the elderly and old people, it requires technical skills and abilities. However, it is desirable to include these indicators for determining BC due to their information content, especially in cases where maximum accuracy is required.
7. The use of a set of tests with the subsequent calculation of BV based on the multiple regression equation makes it possible to more accurately determine BV than on the basis of any one test.
8. To assess the significance of each test in the calculated indicator of functional age, it is necessary to conduct a phased regression analysis.

Currently, different sets of tests are used to determine BV. The programs proposed to determine the BV differ from each other not only in the selected indicators, but also in different fundamental approaches to the research tasks.

So, R.Conard (1960) included four types of tests in the program: skin, sensory, circulatory, neuromuscular. In 1966-1968, under the leadership of D.F. Chebotarev and N.K. Witte, a method was proposed for determining BV in a person on an outpatient basis, including indicators of decrepitude, radiography of the hand, vital capacity of the lungs, dynamometry, time of propagation of a pulse wave through arterial vessels, accommodation eyes and audiometry. W.Bocher, J.Heemgkerk (1969) proposed to determine BV (functional age) based on the biological, psychological and social characteristics of the individual. W.Ries (1972) determines BV using a set of tests, including different aspects senile changes - the need for outside help, mental abilities, dental health, locomotor system, circulatory function, respiration, sensory organs, etc. F. Bourliere (1971) offers a set of biological (including morphological and physiological) and psychological tests. B.Bell, C.Rose, A.Damon (1972) studied BV on the basis of a number of indicators of blood chemistry, anthropometric changes, personality characteristics, working capacity, hearing and sociological research data.

Among the proposed mathematical approaches for determining BV, deserve special attention research carried out at the Institute of Gerontology.

As experience shows, the most convenient for practical work are test batteries, consisting of a small number of indicators. So, T.L. Dubina, A.Ya. right hand(in kg), short-term memory (P) for the reproduction of 10 words after each of 10 presentations (the sum of all reproduced words) and the threshold of vibration sensitivity (B) when stimulating the second finger with vibration at a frequency of 125 Hz (in dB). These indicators to a certain extent reflect the general physical condition, sensory and neuropsychological processes.

In 1984, V.P. Voitenko, A.V. Tokar, A.M. Polyukhov developed and published a method for determining BV based on multiple linear regression. The authors proposed three options for determining BV. The first (the most complex) requires the determination of 13 clinical and physiological parameters and is intended for in-depth studies in the field of clinical gerontology and geriatrics; the second is based on the determination of the 4 most informative parameters out of 13 and requires less labor; the third allows you to evaluate BV using 4 fairly informative and technically simple tests. However, the latter option, as the authors point out, gives approximate estimates of BV and can be used in epidemiological surveys of large contingents.

When calculating BV, the absolute values ​​of the obtained indicators of the corresponding tests are substituted into the formulas.

As mentioned above, some researchers distinguish psychological, intellectual, social age, etc. In recent times to solve specific problems of clinical gerontology and geriatrics, it is proposed to determine the cardiopulmonary age, functional age of the cardiovascular system, functional age of the nervous system, respiratory and other systems.

Of particular importance from a practical point of view is the determination of the functional age of the circulatory system. This is determined by the fact that the cardiovascular system should be considered as leading in the implementation of physiological (directly related to the mechanisms of aging) and pathological determinants - the death of an individual. Since the cardiovascular system mainly determines viability, hence the attempts of many researchers to include in the definition of BV a battery of tests that reflect the state of the circulatory system, F. Bourliere, 1971; N.Shock, 1978.

As already emphasized, one of the most general regularities aging process organism is to limit the range of functional capabilities of physiological systems. To determine the range of adaptation, it is necessary to conduct load tests, taking into account the level of physical performance. It was found that physical performance naturally decreases with age. Thus, the correlation coefficient between age and the level of maximum oxygen consumption (MPO2) is 0.84 for men and 0.813 for women, and between age and the power of submaximal (90% of the maximum) load - 0.881 and 0.803, respectively. The level of physical performance depends, in turn, on the functional state of the cardiovascular system, its reserve capabilities. This position is confirmed by the close relationship between the power level of the submaximal load and the value of the maximum minute volume circulation (vr = 0.870). Therefore, having determined the magnitude of the power of the submaximal load for a particular subject, we can big share probabilities to predict the functional age of his cardiovascular system and the whole organism as a whole.

EF of the cardiovascular system:

for men: EF \u003d (855 - 0.593y - 0.016y2) x 0.1

for women: EF \u003d (753.8 + 5.6y - 0.088y2) x 0.1

(where y is the submaximal physical load that this patient can perform).

Thus, the establishment of a reliable and reliable BV indicator is not only theoretical, but also of great practical importance. At the same time, it should be emphasized that this problem, despite the successes achieved, is far from being finally resolved, and as new information is accumulated, additions and changes will be made. However, there is no doubt that the definition of BV is, firstly, of great importance for understanding the features of the aging process, elucidating the mechanism of aging; secondly, to develop means to increase life expectancy, the effectiveness of which can be objectively assessed only on the basis of the definition of BV; thirdly, to solve a number of practical problems: correct diagnosis and therapy, an individual approach to solving questions about the social structure, the need to change the profile and pace of work.

Scientific prerequisites and ways to implement effective measures for the prevention and treatment of premature human aging directly follow from modern ideas about the patterns of influence of biological and social factors on the aging process. Therefore, the maximum possible improvement of environmental conditions, the nature and regime of work, rest, nutrition, the elimination of risk factors is the key to a successful solution to the problem of human longevity.

At the same time, numerous experimental studies convincingly demonstrate the possibility of increasing life expectancy using a number of substances and preparations - the so-called geroprotectors.

In clinical practice, the term "geriatric drugs" has become more widespread. This term refers to drugs intended to prevent or reduce the effects of premature aging. They are subject to a number of requirements.

Modern geriatric drugs are biologically active substances with a wide spectrum of action aimed at correcting energy processes, strengthening compensatory, adaptive and regulatory mechanisms, normalizing the body's reactivity to exogenous and endogenous stimuli.

The use of geriatric drugs (geroprotectors) is one of the most urgent and at the same time the most controversial problems of modern gerontology. First of all, the question arises whether the use of geriatric agents is indicated for the so-called physiological aging. It would seem that physiological aging, which is a gradual natural development of senile changes, does not require special therapeutic effects. However, already with physiological aging, there are indications for the implementation of measures that stimulate the functions of organs and systems. A prerequisite for the use of geriatric drugs in physiological aging is the development of a complex of changes that reduce the level of functioning of physiological systems. The significance of age-related changes in the formation of pathology in old age should also be taken into account. It has been proven that the increase in pathological processes in old age is due to the direct influence of the aging process. Mathematical modeling of aging and diseases has shown that with age, the ratio of the influence of environmental influences and internal factors in the development of many diseases changes significantly. It turns out that in the elderly and senile age, the role of internal factors in the development of a number of pathological processes (the circulatory system, the bronchopulmonary apparatus, gastrointestinal tract, CNS, etc.).

On the other hand, various diseases in themselves are factors that accelerate the aging process, serve as prerequisites for the manifestation of premature (accelerated) aging.

In this regard, the use of geroprotectors can contribute to breaking the pathological chain in the aging-disease structure. Indeed, if age-related changes ( internal factor) play an increasing role in the development of pathology in old age, it can be assumed that the use of geroprotectors that affect the mechanisms of aging will reduce the prerequisites for the development of pathology in old age and thereby reduce the likelihood of developing diseases.

The use of geroprotectors as basic therapy with various diseases in older age groups, it will also help expand the adaptive capabilities of the body and prevent premature aging due to the influence of old age diseases.

Thus, the use of geroprotectors is already indicated during physiological aging, since it can prevent the development of diseases, and thus premature aging. However, the question arises as to how effective the use of geriatric drugs is. After all, if aging is due to morphological, irreversible changes, it is difficult to count on the effectiveness of therapeutic effects.

However, modern gerontology has data that allow us to draw an optimistic conclusion about the expediency of geriatric treatments during aging. This perspective is evidenced by the significant proportion of functional factors in determining senile changes.

A number of studies have shown that in aging, along with a decrease in functions, mechanisms for compensating for adverse senile changes develop. The position of V.V. Frolkis that aging is not a simple destruction of structure and function has received wide recognition, but is new level adaptations to the environment. Therefore, improving adaptation mechanisms, it is possible to increase the vitality of the body and prevent premature aging even when exposed to adverse environmental factors.

When developing and prescribing geriatric drugs, the following circumstances should be borne in mind:

1. the allocation of links that limit the reliability of the body;
2. ways of influencing these links;
3. optimal schemes for the use of geroprotectors;
4. evaluation of their effectiveness.

As for the 3rd and 4th points, they are interconnected. Based on the consideration of the dynamics of indicators that most clearly reflect the processes that are affected by a particular geriatric remedy, they develop schemes for its use that provide the greatest effect.

Studies show that an important method for assessing the effectiveness of geroprotectors is the determination of BV (EF). Since BV is an integral indicator of the functional state of the body, its determination in the process of using geroprotectors makes it possible to trace the dynamics of the functional state of the body, to quantify the geroprotective effect of various drugs.

The choice of links of influence is important. These are, as a rule, links that limit functionality during aging.

The schematic limitation of the functionality of organs and systems during aging is due to following processes:

• violation of neurohumoral regulation of organs and systems;
• deterioration of tissue trophism;
• decrease in immunological reactivity;
• limitation of the functionality of the cardiovascular system;
• hypoxic shifts;
• violation of metabolism and energy production processes.

It seems to us that the drugs used in geriatrics should be prescribed taking into account the impact on these processes, have antioxidant, anti-sclerotic properties, and increase resistance to stress. It also seems promising to include amino acids in the composition of geroprotectors, which are precursors of CNS mediators, stimulators of brain energy, and regulators of lipid metabolism.

The Institute of Gerontology has carried out long-term comprehensive studies to study the effectiveness of the mechanisms of action of a number of geriatric drugs (geroprotectors) on various functions, metabolic processes aging person. The results of these studies confirm the fundamental possibility and expediency of using biologically active substances to prevent and treat premature aging.

However, modern knowledge about the so-called geriatric drugs (geroprotectors) confirm the need for certain caution when prescribing them to older people. The limited range of functional capabilities of an aging organism, often changes in its sensitivity to the action of biological agents, determine the need to reduce and select individual doses of stimulants used, and shorten treatment courses. In this regard, treatment with geriatric drugs should be carried out under the strict supervision of a physician. When prescribing geroprotectors, it is necessary to take into account the nature of the type of premature aging, i.e., follow a differentiated approach.

Of great interest is the mechanism of the beneficial effect of biologically active substances on the aging process. In the studies conducted, attention is drawn to the homogeneity of the effect of a number of geriatric drugs, despite the different mechanisms of their action. Such unidirectionality of the therapeutic effect of geriatric drugs with different points of application in the body indicates, apparently, the commonality of the specific mechanisms of action for each drug. All of them are largely mediated by their influence on regulatory systems. Indeed, the normalizing effect of geriatric drugs on metabolism, and therefore on all organs and systems, on the body as a whole improves the functions of not only specific links, structures of the body, but, which is very important, its regulatory systems. Improvement of neurohumoral regulation against the background of increased trophism, stimulation of compensatory mechanisms of executing systems, undoubtedly, expands the range of adaptation of individual links and an integral aging organism. Aging, especially premature, is characterized by a pronounced reduction in these capabilities. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that as a result of increased adaptation with the help of geroprotectors, it is possible to change the nature and rate of aging, to a large extent normalize the activity of functioning body systems in accordance with their age indicators. Thus, geroprotectors can be an effective measure not only for the prevention of pathological processes in old age, but also for their treatment.

Thus, modern gerontology has a number of tools that can rightfully be considered as geroprotectors. Further research on new, more effective methods for the prevention of premature aging is one of the urgent tasks of preventive gerontology and geriatrics. The achievements of modern science on aging and old age have prepared the ground for further steps towards the successful solution of the problem of the use by a person of his biological life limit.

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It happens that at the age of 18 people become decrepit, and at 20-30 they already die

In October 2005, in a Moscow clinic, doctors performed the first operation on a patient suffering from premature aging syndrome. Progeria - very rare disease. Medical luminaries around the world claim that from the moment of "awakening" in the body of this disease, people live on average only 13 years.

According to statistics, about 1 in 4 million people are born with a similar genetic defect. Progeria is divided into children's, called Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, and adult progeria - Werner's syndrome. In both cases, the genetic mechanism breaks down and unnatural depletion of all life support systems begins. Delayed in Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome physical development children with the simultaneous appearance in them in the very first months of life of signs of senile graying, baldness, wrinkles. By the age of five, such a child suffers from all senile ailments: hearing loss, arthritis, atherosclerosis, and does not even live to be 13 years old. With Werner's syndrome, young people begin to age rapidly at the age of 16-20 years, and by the age of 30-40 such patients die with all the symptoms of old age.

There is no cure for progeria - using all the scientific achievements, you can only slow down the irreversible process.

Stolen youth

Cases of sudden aging are very prosaic: a child living in normal conditions at first surprises those around him with his rapid development. At a young age, he looks like an adult, and then he begins to show all the signs of ... approaching old age. In 1716, the eighteen-year-old son of Earl William of Sheffield died in the English city of Nottingham, who began to grow old at the age of thirteen. Young Sheffield looked much older than his father: gray hair, half-fallen teeth, wrinkled skin. The unfortunate young man had the appearance of a man battered by life, he suffered greatly from this and accepted death as deliverance from torment.

There are cases of this kind among representatives of royal families. The Hungarian king Ludwig II had already reached puberty at the age of nine and was happy to have fun with the court girls. At fourteen, he acquired a thick full beard and began to look at least 35 years old. A year later, he married, and by the age of sixteen, his wife gave him a son. But at the age of eighteen, Ludwig completely turned gray, and two years later he died with all signs of senile decrepitude. It is curious that neither the king's son nor his further descendants inherited such a disease. From examples of the 19th century, one can single out the story of a simple village girl, the Frenchwoman Louise Ravaillac. At the age of eight, Louise, fully formed as a woman, became pregnant by a local shepherd and gave birth to a completely healthy child. By the age of sixteen, she already had three children and she looked older than her mother, at 25 she turned into a decrepit old woman and, before reaching 26, she died of old age.

Of no less interest are the fates of those who lived in the 20th century. Some of them are more fortunate than others. For example, born in 1905, a resident of the American city of San Bernardino, Michael Sommers, who matured early and aged, was able to live to be 31 years old. At first, a super-fast entry into adult life even made him happy. But when, at seventeen, Michael realized with horror that he had begun to age, he began to make desperate attempts to stop this destructive process. But the doctors just shrugged, unable to do anything to help. Sommers managed to slow down the decrepitude a little after he, having moved to a permanent residence in the village, began to spend a lot of time outdoors. But still, by the age of 30, he turned into an old man, and a year later he was finished off by an ordinary flu. Among other similar phenomena, one can single out the Englishwoman Barbara Dalyn, who died in 1982 at the age of 26. By the age of 20, having managed to be married and give birth to two children, Barbara quickly and irreversibly grew old. That is why her young husband left her, who did not want to live with the "old ruin". At the age of 22, from deteriorating health and suffering shocks, the “old woman” became blind and, until her death, moved by touch or accompanied by a guide dog, presented to her by the authorities of her native Birmingham.

Paul Demongeot from the French city of Marseille is twenty-three years old. At the same time, he looks at all 60 and feels like a man of advanced age. However, he does not yet lose hope that a miracle will happen and a remedy will be found that will stop his rapid decrepitude. His brother in misfortune, Sicilian from the city of Syracuse, Mario Termini, is not even 20 years old, but he looks much more than 30. The son of wealthy parents, Termini does not deny himself anything, meets local beauties and leads a wild life.

What do we have?

"Early" people lived in our country. Back in the days of Ivan the Terrible, the son of the Mikhailov boyars, Vasily, died at the age of 19 as a decrepit old man. In 1968, at the age of 22, Nikolai Shorikov, a worker at one of the factories, died in Sverdlovsk. He began to grow old at the age of sixteen, which extremely puzzled the doctors. The luminaries of medicine only shrugged their shoulders: “This cannot be!” Having become an old man at the age when everything was just beginning, Nikolai lost all interest in life and committed suicide by swallowing pills ... And thirteen years later, 28-year-old "old man" Sergei Efimov died in Leningrad. His youthful period ended by the age of eleven, and he began to noticeably age after twenty and died a decrepit old man, having almost completely lost the ability to think sensibly a year before his death.

Genes are to blame

Many scientists believe that the main cause of this disease is a genetic mutation leading to the accumulation of a large amount of protein in cells. Psychics and magicians claim that there are special methods of sending "damage" in order to age a person.

By the way, this disease occurs not only in humans, but also in animals. They also have life cycles and periods sometimes go according to the scenario for three or even ten years. Perhaps the solution to the problem will be found after many years of experiments on our smaller brothers.

A drug called a farnesyl transferase inhibitor significantly reduces the rate of symptoms of premature aging in lab mice, researchers at the University of California have found. Perhaps this medicine will be suitable for the treatment of people.

Here is how the candidate of biological sciences Igor Bykov characterizes the symptoms of the disease in children: “Progeria occurs suddenly with the appearance of large age spots on the body. Then people begin to be overcome by the most real senile ailments. They develop heart disease, blood vessels, diabetes, hair and teeth fall out, subcutaneous fat disappears. Bones become brittle, skin wrinkled, and bodies hunched over. The aging process in such patients proceeds approximately ten times faster than in healthy person. Evil is rooted, most likely, in the genes. There is a hypothesis that they suddenly stop giving the cells the command to divide. And those quickly become worthless.

Genes cease to give the command to cells, it seems that the ends of DNA in the chromosomes are shortened - the so-called telomeres, the length of which is supposedly measured by the duration of human life. Similar processes are taking place in normal people, but much slower. But it is completely incomprehensible, as a result of what kind of violation, telomeres are shortened and aging begins to accelerate at least 10 times. Now scientists are trying to lengthen telomeres with the help of enzymes. There were even reports that American geneticists managed to prolong the life of flies in this way. But the results applicable in practice are still far away. People cannot be helped even at the level of experiments. Fortunately, the disease is not inherited.

It is assumed that a failure in the genome occurs even during the period prenatal development. So far, science cannot track and manage this failure: it can only state a fact, but perhaps in the near future gerontology will answer this question to the world.

Aging is a natural sign of development to which all living organisms are subject. This phenomenon occurs due to the exhaustion of internal biological resources. This process can develop in accordance with natural timing, and may occur prematurely. What causes early aging, how to prevent it, how to eliminate its consequences are questions that interest both scientists and ordinary people.

The root cause of early aging is a metabolic failure of the functions of the endocrine and other systems.

For example, a lack of estrogen hormones in a woman leads to rapid aging of the skin and the whole body. Besides, important reasons that prematurely cause this process are bad habits, Wrong way life.

1. Formed eating habits can have a harmful effect, accelerating the wear and tear of the body. These include the use of sweets, refined, salty foods, red meat, alcohol, products containing trans fats.
2. Stress, inability to resist them. nervous tension, depression and the uncontrolled negative emotions they cause are a source of psychosomatic diseases that lead to a weakened immune system and premature aging. Women, being emotionally more receptive, are more likely to experience a depressive mood and experiences. However, in men, despite their emotional stability, stress causes more severe consequences.
3. The accumulation of toxins has a detrimental effect on the body, triggering the mechanism of decrepitude ahead of time. This refers to the uncontrolled intake of medications - antipyretics, antibiotics, hormones, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and sleeping pills. As well as the use of chlorinated water, food, saturated with pesticides, nitrates, hormones, antibiotics. Living in environmentally polluted areas also leads to the accumulation of toxins in the body.
4. Smoking, addiction to alcohol contributes to an increase in the number of oxidative processes that lead to wear, destruction of the body from the inside, and early formation of wrinkles.

Attention! One of the reasons that trigger the mechanism of premature aging in women is osteoporosis, caused by the loss of bone tissue due to a lack of calcium in the body.

Progeria is a rare disease of rapid aging.

Progeria or the disease of aging (premature), which is a rare - only 80 cases in the world - genetic failure that causes accelerated aging of all human organs.
It manifests itself in two forms - children's and adult, more common in boys.

The first - the Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome manifests itself in children at the age of 1-2 years. It is characterized by a developmental delay, characteristic changes in appearance, the acquisition of senile features. Life expectancy with this form of the disease is about 20 years.

The second is Werner's syndrome to develop in adolescence- up to 18 years old. Characterized by cessation of growth, early graying and baldness, weight loss, change in appearance. The average life expectancy of people with Werner's syndrome barely exceeds 40 years.

Attention! Progeria is not a hereditary disease, genetics has absolutely nothing to do with its occurrence. The reasons for the sudden mutation of the lamin A (LMNA) gene, which triggers rapid aging, are still unknown. Medical treatment the disease does not

Causes of skin aging

The appearance of the first signs of maturity and withering of the skin can be observed quite early, in some as early as 25 years of age. They appear as the first mimic wrinkles caused by bright facial expressions and anatomical features faces. As long as the skin of the face retains its elasticity, during muscle relaxation, it is able to smooth out. But over time, its properties change and previously superficial wrinkles become deeper. The loss of the skin's ability to self-heal, regenerate, is the main reason for its withering.

Considering the conditions that cause rapid skin aging, it should be noted that this process depends on many factors, some of which can be controlled:

1. Sun. It not only saturates the body with vitamin D, but is the cause of accelerated aging and cancer. Skin unprotected by clothing or a special sunscreen in the sun undergoes photoaging - a process caused by the influence of ultraviolet rays penetrating deep into the dermis, causing activation of oxidative processes, destruction of capillaries, collagen fibers, phototoxic reactions. The same destructive effect on the skin has a desire to quickly tan in a solarium. As a result of prolonged exposure to UV radiation, the elasticity of the skin decreases.
2. Dehydration. In the cells of the skin suffering from dehydration, the structure is disturbed, which leads to the formation of fine wrinkles and tightness of the skin.
3. natural factors. have a negative impact on skin covering, causing its dehydration, early wilting, prolonged exposure to dry air, frost, wind, dust, high humidity.
4. Avitaminosis. The lack of vitamins leads to depletion of the body, causes skin aging and early formation of wrinkles.

Types aging

In different people, the processes of aging of the skin begin in different ways and in different dates, which allows them to be divided into 5 types:

1. "Fatigue of the face" occurs in owners of a combination skin type, characterized by a loss of skin elasticity, a manifestation of puffiness of puffiness, the formation of a pronounced nasolabial fold, and lowering of the corners of the mouth.
2. "Bulldog cheeks" - a deformation type of aging, characteristic of owners prone to fullness oily skin. It is characterized by a change in the contours of the face and neck, the appearance of flares, swelling, and highly developed nasolabial folds.
3. "Finely wrinkled face" - this type is characterized by the presence of dry skin and the formation of a network of small horizontal and vertical wrinkles in the corners of the eyes, on the forehead, cheeks, around the contour of the lips. It occurs as a result of dehydration of the skin, as well as in owners of dry skin, it manifests itself early.
4. "Mixed type" - combining the signs of deformation, wrinkling and losing skin elasticity types of aging.
5. “Muscular type” is a type of aging characteristic of Asians, its characteristic features are wrinkling in the eye area.

Prevention of aging

A set of measures taken to reduce wear internal reserves organism, is the best prevention of premature decrepitude.

Leading a healthy lifestyle

Physical and mental activity, change in thinking and nutrition culture, compliance with activity and rest regimes, rejection of bad habits - conditions that contribute to the prolongation of youth.

The daily routine, consisting of alternating work-rest, contributes to the rapid recovery of strength, and reasonable physical activity and an active lifestyle help to resist stress.

Food

Healthy food is one of the ways to prevent early aging, according to modern nutritionists. Inclusion in the diet of foods rich in antioxidants helps to eliminate free radicals, thereby prolonging youth. These include:

• spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, pumpkin;
• grapes, strawberries, oranges;
• cinnamon, ginger;
• poultry, oily fish;
• green tea, red wine.

This is not a complete list of products that can saturate cells with antioxidants, increasing their resistance to the effects of time.

Compliance with the water regime

Allows you to maintain a normal life balance in cells and tissues, to prevent their wear.

Prevention of physiological dysfunctions

Allows you to regulate metabolic and trophic processes in the body. Assumes:

• carrying out anti-aging cosmetic procedures;
• targeted training aimed at maintaining physical fitness;
• gentle use of dietary supplements, vitamins and pharmaceuticals that stimulate the restoration and strengthening of the immune system.

Correction of external signs of accelerated aging

Speaking about the attempt to eliminate the signs of early skin aging, we mean the correction of wrinkles, the improvement of skin elasticity. Here, the tools of the beauty industry will come to the rescue, which, although not able to stop time, has many ways to correct its influence. When choosing one or another method, one should take into account the type of skin, as well as the type of aging and the degree of its manifestation. For the purpose of rejuvenation, facial skin can be affected by:

• therapeutically - with the help of masks, chemical peeling, paraffin therapy, various massage techniques, mesotherapy, beauty injections and other methods;
• hardware - conducting phonophoresis, hardware massage or laser therapy;
• surgically - with the help of plastic surgery or endoscopic lifting.

When planning to use a radical (surgical) method for correcting signs of skin aging, the type of aging should be taken into account in order to choose best method capable of giving maximum effect with minimum impact

The skin, like the entire body, undergoes irreversible changes throughout life. And yet, as practice shows, their premature wear can be controlled if the number of external adverse factors is reduced. Leading a healthy lifestyle, taking care of your appearance, taking care of your health and well-being, periodically conducting a course of maintenance therapy in the form of taking multivitamin complexes, massages, other health and rejuvenation procedures, you can achieve significant success in the fight for youth.

Aging early or later - it all depends on us, dear women. Our beauty is the result of hard work. Stay young and beautiful!

Aging of the human body is a complex biological process that reflects only one side of the development of the body.

Experts distinguish two types of aging: natural or physiological and premature, which, under the influence of living conditions and various diseases, develops at an accelerated pace.

No matter how sad it is, but the second type, that is, premature aging, is the most common form of decrepitude in our society.

With this type, age-related changes occur much earlier than with the physiological, and the biological age prevails over the calendar.

Causes of premature aging

Signs of premature aging often appear by the age of 40, reducing the quality of human life. Among the causes of premature aging, external and internal factors can be distinguished.

Adverse external factors

These include frequent stress, bad habits, failure of the natural biorhythm, malnutrition lead to premature wear of organs and tissues. They are often the cause of diseases that accelerate the biological aging of the body.

People experiencing the above adverse factors, more often suffer from arthritis, cataracts, atherosclerosis, dementia, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and oncological diseases.

Diseases

There are a number of diseases that rapidly cause signs of premature aging of the body. If a person is sick with cerebral vascular sclerosis, peptic ulcer, tuberculosis, diabetes mellitus, immune deficiency, signs of senile decrepitude immediately appear in the body - posture, hair, skin change.

Emotional and mental stress

Stressful situations are harmful to health and cause premature aging. The most dangerous is excessive stress or when it is constant.

The presence of depressing thoughts, the inability to discharge emotionally, pronounce a disturbing situation or simply switch, obsessing over problems - adversely affect the mental and physical health of a person.

They call:

• muscle tension in the neck and shoulders,
• headache,
• insomnia
• indigestion,
• anxiety
• mood swings,
• negative thoughts
• and feeling tired.

And experts consider chronic fatigue syndrome a model of accelerated aging of the body.

Constant lack of sleep

Sleep disturbance or insufficient sleep is detrimental to overall health. Each person has his own need for rest, in order to have a good rest and restore your strength, 7-8 hours of sleep is enough.

If a person does not get enough sleep constantly and for a long time, chronic sleep deprivation may occur, which leads to a violation of the physiological functions of the body:

• irritability appears, sense of humor is lost,
• the physiological properties of the brain change, which leads to a decrease in memory and an inability to concentrate one's attention,
• every day a person experiences headaches and dizziness,
• response is reduced.

And all these signs together create difficulties in solving problems.

Sometimes a person deliberately deprives himself of sleep, explaining this by saying that there is not enough time for creativity or business, mistakenly believing that it is a pity to waste your time sleeping.

Thus, he provokes breakdowns in his health, the restoration of which will spend even more time.

It is also important that it is impossible to sleep off in advance, the body is not adapted to this, and as a result, you can get weakness, lethargy, and a headache.

Similarly, excessive sleep does not bring rest, but fatigue and a decline in strength and energy. Healthy body.

Unbalanced diet

Our cells, tissues and organs need the energy that the body receives from food. Rational nutrition contributes to the normal renewal of cells, their rejuvenation.

In a healthy body, liver cells are completely renewed within a year, and young skin cells replace old ones 12 times during this period. In order for cells to rejuvenate, they need a balanced diet.

Often, in human food, the calorie content of food intake exceeds energy costs. Unused energy is stored in the body in the form of fat, and obesity causes a number of health problems and causes aging of the human body.

It must be remembered that the body needs amino acids, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, lecithin, Omega-3, all that is found in natural foods, vegetables, fruits and herbs. Eating right, a person feels full of strength and energy.

Bad habits

Smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs are the main bad habits that take away health and life. So smoking causes a powerful blow to the respiratory and cardiovascular system.

Often smoking provokes an increase in pressure, an increase in cholesterol in the blood, which leads to heart disease and stroke.

Excessive alcohol consumption destroys blood cells, which can provoke the occurrence of many diseases, such as pancreatitis, diabetes, gastritis, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

Alcohol destroys the liver, disrupts metabolism, blood sugar regulation functions. No less serious concern is caused by beer alcoholism, which also destroys not only the organs and systems of the body, but also the human psyche.

And drugs lead to a complete defeat of the body. Drugs are the path to the degradation of society, statistics show that Russia is already in 3rd place in the world in terms of drug use after Afghanistan and Iran.

More than 2.5 million people in our country are addicted to drugs, destroying their health. The heart, blood vessels, brain, digestion, respiration suffer from drugs, the human psyche is disturbed, reproductive ability and immunity are lost. But the most important thing is that drugs significantly shorten a person's life!

Unfavorable internal factors

The internal causes of premature aging of the body include exposure to free radicals, autointoxication, autoimmune processes, and impaired brain function.

Autointoxication

In the process of normal human life, toxic substances are produced in his body, which are excreted by the body itself. But if the excretory system does not cope with its functions, toxic products are again absorbed into the blood, and the body is gradually poisoned with poisons or autointoxication.

This occurs with diseases such as uremia, anuria, constipation and intestinal obstruction, with metabolic disorders associated with diabetes mellitus, thyrotoxic goiter, and even with toxicosis of pregnancy. In this case, a person feels unwell, weakness, headache and dizziness, nausea or vomiting.

Autointoxication is eliminated by activating the excretory function of the body, eliminating the causes that caused it, using medications(diuretic and diaphoretic), blood transfusion…. At kidney failure more radical methods are used.

Impact of free radicals

Free radicals are the main cause of premature aging of the body, causing atherosclerosis, cancer, heart attack and stroke, diseases of the skin, immune and nervous system.

The human body has a system for fighting radicals, but antioxidant enzymes do not always cope with them.

The body needs additional protection against free radicals in the form of antioxidants, which act as traps for them. Such traps are plant bioflavonoids, which prevent premature human aging.

It is believed that bioflavonoids and phytohormones contain plants that have a dark pigment color, such as: blueberries, blackberries, blueberries, beets, purple cabbage, dark grapes, prunes, beans, beets, black radish ...

How to avoid premature aging

To avoid premature aging, it is necessary to increase defensive forces body, optimize the activity of organs and systems, compensating for weakened functions and preventing the occurrence of new disorders in the body.

First of all, strive to eliminate the causes leading to premature aging, which were mentioned above.

Review your diet and try to include as many natural foods as possible. Unfortunately, get everything from food necessary components for health and life is very difficult, so you can adjust your diet with the help of dietary supplements.

Medical industry and network companies produce dietary supplements based on marine products, medicinal plants with the addition of bioactive ingredients - peptide molecules of regulatory action that increase the body's bioenergetics.

The balance of sex hormones is a necessary and most important factor in maintaining the processes of renewal and rejuvenation in the human body, especially in adulthood. The lack of estrogen, which is involved in the synthesis of collagen, invariably affects the appearance of wrinkles, loss of skin elasticity and its withering, hair loss.

A similar skin aging condition is sometimes seen in young women chasing fad diets. Indeed, in youth, estrogens are produced not only by the ovaries, but also by adipose tissue.

Without water, physiological processes are impossible. All internal processes in the body proceed with the participation of water, in aquatic environments.

All cells are surrounded by a nutrient gel. containing structurally bound water. And the more water in this gel, the higher the turgor of tissues and cells.

The loss of water by the body is immediately visible on the skin, which loses its turgor and becomes flabby and sagging. The same processes occur with internal organs, which often causes their dysfunction.

Therefore, no one doubts that water is the main indicator of body aging. But not all water is equally absorbed by the body. Water with certain physical and chemical parameters is considered useful for the body. They take into account:

• redox potential,
• surface tension,
• mineralization,
• pH and other parameters.

Structured or melted water is most suitable for these parameters.

Lifestyle, nutrition, fresh air, physical labor and exercise, charging for the brain, its constant training, all these are important components of longevity, therefore, the ability to avoid premature aging depends on each of us.