Progress In Aging

For most Americans, staying "mentally sharp" as they age is a very high priority. Declines in memory and decision-making abilities may trigger fears of Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases. However, cognitive aging is a natural process that can have both positive and negative effects on cognitive function in older adults - effects that vary widely among individuals. At this point in time, when the older population is rapidly growing in the United States and across the globe, it is important to examine what is known about cognitive aging and to identify and promote actions that individuals, organizations, communities, and society can take to help older adults maintain and improve their cognitive health. Cognitive Aging assesses the public health dimensions of cognitive aging with an emphasis on definitions and terminology, epidemiology and surveillance, prevention and intervention, education of health professionals, and public awareness and education. This report makes specific recommendations for individuals to reduce the risks of cognitive decline with aging. Aging is inevitable, but there are actions that can be taken by individuals, families, communities, and society that may help to prevent or ameliorate the impact of aging on the brain, understand more about its impact, and help older adults live more fully and independent lives. Cognitive aging is not just an individual or a family or a health care system challenge. It is an issue that affects the fabric of society and requires actions by many and varied stakeholders. Cognitive Aging offers clear steps that individuals, families, communities, health care providers and systems, financial organizations, community groups, public health agencies, and others can take to promote cognitive health and to help older adults live fuller and more independent lives. Ultimately, this report calls for a societal commitment to cognitive aging as a public health issue that requires prompt action across many sectors.

Handbook of the Biology of Aging, Eighth Edition, provides readers with an update on the rapid progress in the research of aging. It is a comprehensive synthesis and review of the latest and most important advances and themes in modern biogerontology, and focuses on the trend of ‘big data’ approaches in the biological sciences, presenting new strategies to analyze, interpret, and understand the enormous amounts of information being generated through DNA sequencing, transcriptomic, proteomic, and the metabolomics methodologies applied to aging related problems. The book includes discussions on longevity pathways and interventions that modulate aging, innovative new tools that facilitate systems-level approaches to aging research, the mTOR pathway and its importance in age-related phenotypes, new strategies to pharmacologically modulate the mTOR pathway to delay aging, the importance of sirtuins and the hypoxic response in aging, and how various pathways interact within the context of aging as a complex genetic trait, amongst others. Covers the key areas in biological gerontology research in one volume, with an 80% update from the previous edition Edited by Matt Kaeberlein and George Martin, highly respected voices and researchers within the biology of aging discipline Assists basic researchers in keeping abreast of research and clinical findings outside their subdiscipline Presents information that will help medical, behavioral, and social gerontologists in understanding what basic scientists and clinicians are discovering New chapters on genetics, evolutionary biology, bone aging, and epigenetic control Provides a close examination of the diverse research being conducted today in the study of the biology of aging, detailing recent breakthroughs and potential new directions

The WHO World report on ageing and health is not for the book shelf it is a living breathing testament to all older people who have fought for their voice to be heard at all levels of government across disciplines and sectors. - Mr Bjarne Hastrup President International Federation on Ageing and CEO DaneAge This report outlines a framework for action to foster Healthy Ageing built around the new concept of functional ability. This will require a transformation of health systems away from disease based curative models and towards the provision of older-person-centred and integrated care. It will require the development sometimes from nothing of comprehensive systems of long term care. It will require a coordinated response from many other sectors and multiple levels of government. And it will need to draw on better ways of measuring and monitoring the health and functioning of older populations. These actions are likely to be a sound investment in society's future. A future that gives older people the freedom to live lives that previous generations might never have imagined. The World report on ageing and health responds to these challenges by recommending equally profound changes in the way health policies for ageing populations are formulated and services are provided. As the foundation for its recommendations the report looks at what the latest evidence has to say about the ageing process noting that many common perceptions and assumptions about older people are based on outdated stereotypes. The report's recommendations are anchored in the evidence comprehensive and forward-looking yet eminently practical. Throughout examples of experiences from different countries are used to illustrate how specific problems can be addressed through innovation solutions. Topics explored range from strategies to deliver comprehensive and person-centred services to older populations to policies that enable older people to live in comfort and safety to ways to correct the problems and injustices inherent in current systems for long-term care.

Recent studies have indicated that epigenetic processes may play a major role in both cellular and organismal aging. These epigenetic processes include not only DNA methylation and histone modifications, but also extend to many other epigenetic mediators such as the polycomb group proteins, chromosomal position effects, and noncoding RNA. The topics of this book range from fundamental changes in DNA methylation in aging to the most recent research on intervention into epigenetic modifications to modulate the aging process. The major topics of epigenetics and aging covered in this book are: 1) DNA methylation and histone modifications in aging; 2) Other epigenetic processes and aging; 3) Impact of epigenetics on aging; 4) Epigenetics of age-related diseases; 5) Epigenetic interventions and aging: and 6) Future directions in epigenetic aging research. The most studied of epigenetic processes, DNA methylation, has been associated with cellular aging and aging of organisms for many years. It is now apparent that both global and gene-specific alterations occur not only in DNA methylation during aging, but also in several histone alterations. Many epigenetic alterations can have an impact on aging processes such as stem cell aging, control of telomerase, modifications of telomeres, and epigenetic drift can impact the aging process as evident in the recent studies of aging monozygotic twins. Numerous age-related diseases are affected by epigenetic mechanisms. For example, recent studies have shown that DNA methylation is altered in Alzheimer’s disease and autoimmunity. Other prevalent diseases that have been associated with age-related epigenetic changes include cancer and diabetes. Paternal age and epigenetic changes appear to have an effect on schizophrenia and epigenetic silencing has been associated with several of the progeroid syndromes of premature aging. Moreover, the impact of dietary or drug intervention into epigenetic processes as they affect normal aging or age-related diseases is becoming increasingly feasible.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER SILVER MEDALIST for the 2022 Axiom Business Book Award for Success/Motivation/Coaching SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada Book Award Author of the iconic bestsellers This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind, Daniel Levitin turns his keen insights to what happens in our brains as we age, why we should think about health span, not life span, and, based on a rigorous analysis of neuroscientific evidence, what you can do to make the most of your seventies, eighties, and nineties today no matter how old you are now. Successful Aging uses research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences to show that sixty-plus years is a unique developmental stage that, like infancy or adolescence, has its own demands and distinct advantages. Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience. Throughout his exploration of what aging really means, Levitin reveals resilience strategies and practical, cognitive enhancing tricks everyone should do as they age. The book is packed with accessible and discussable takeaways, providing great material for reading groups and media coverage. Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.