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Gray is the New Gold: State of the Science 2008
Longevity Science: Slowing the Spiral of Aging

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• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents

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Table of Contents

State of the Science: 2008	3
Executive Summary	3
Oxidative Stress: A Key to Aging	4
Think Twice About Taking Supplemental Antioxidants	4
Defining the Damage	5
Cigarette Smoking and Oxidative Stress	6
Slow the Damage	7
Oxidative Stress in the Older Adults	8
Of Hormones and Aging	9
Testosterone: Estrogen for Men?	10
Oxidative Stress and Estrogen	10
Human Growth Hormone: The Possibilities	12
Recombinant Human Growth Hormone: Not Ready for Prime Time	12
Nutrition and Aging	14
Is There An Anti-Aging Diet?	15
Using Natures Antioxidants to Fight Oxidative Stress	16
Looking Forward	17
Endnotes	19
Who We Are	20

Executive Summary

Take away the chronological age, wrinkles and gray hair and what do you have left when it comes to evaluating someone’s true age? Quite a lot, as it turns out. From measuring levels of oxidative stress and hormones to defining healthy aging through diet, researchers from the Kronos Longevity Research Institute (KLRI) and their scientific peers have been moving beyond the obvious to identify underlying markers of aging and develop ways to slow their effects.

Only through this process of scientific discovery can the real contributors to aging and age-related diseases be identified and, when possible, reversed.

This State of the Science report provides information on several key areas of aging-related research involving KLRI scientists and their peers around the country. Specifically:

Oxidative stress. KLRI researchers, often in conjunction with scientists at academic centers throughout the country, are trying to learn how oxidative damage occurs, how it can be prevented or minimized, and how aging affects innate mechanisms designed to protect against it. To that end, KLRI scientists have developed methods to accurately measure oxidative stress biomarkers in the urine and blood. Now, using a unique process that safely creates oxidative stress in healthy humans, they are working to establish a reference range for people ages 20 to 85 to determine what is “normal” in different age groups. This will help identify age-related differences in oxidation and validate the existence of oxidative stress biomarkers in age-related diseases.

Caloric restriction. A major initiative in anti-aging research focuses on the effects of caloric restriction on longevity and age-related disease. Animal studies find that dramatically reducing food intake can significantly increase longevity.

Now researchers affiliated with KLRI are trying to identify compounds that produce the same biochemical effects without limiting the amount of food—research that could revolutionize the way we age.

Hormones. Along with oxidation and caloric restriction, the impact of hormones is a key focus in the area of longevity research, particularly at KLRI. Here, researchers have launched a national, multicenter study to evaluate the effects of estrogen therapy in women just before and after menopause—something the highly publicized Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) tried to do. Because WHI participants were much older than women who typically use postmenopausal hormone therapy, its results have become suspect. The KLRI study is designed to evaluate the effects of supplemental estrogen on markers of cardiovascular health as well as cognition and memory in a “real world” environment with younger women.

Researchers from KLRI have also launched a large, national study to evaluate the risks and benefits of testosterone therapy in older men. The TEAAM study will enable researchers to see if supplemental testosterone increases the risk of atherosclerosis and evaluate its impact on lean body mass levels, muscle development, cognitive function, and health-related quality of life.

KLRI researchers have also developed a unique study to evaluate the effects of increased levels of human growth hormone—without supplementing with the hormone—on markers of aging.

Nutrition. Finally, KLRI researchers are beginning to tease out the impact of diet on aging-related conditions such as insulin resistance, which is thought to contribute to a variety of diseases common in older people. The first study evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, “healthy” fats found primarily in fatty fish like salmon and tuna and in some seeds.

Through these and other studies, researchers at KLRI and around the world are working to create a new understanding of aging and a new paradigm of “old age.” Their goal is to insure that regardless of how long one lives, every day, every year, is lived as fully as possible, with the best possible quality of life and health.