Guest Column: The Great Challenges and the Exquisite Promise of Biology of Aging Research

Guest Column: The Great Challenges and the Exquisite Promise of Biology of Aging Research

By Dr. Janko Nikolich-ZugichArizona Center on Aging
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Dr. Janko Nikolich-Zugich
Dr. Janko Nikolich-Zugich

It is probably no news to most that the fastest growing segment of the human population in Arizona, the nation, and around the world, is older adults – those over 65 years old. In fact, 13 percent of the population of Arizona, or about 850,000 people, and nearly 35 million people nationally, are in this category. The U.S. Bureau of Census predicts that this group will more than double to 80 million by 2050, at which time there will be nearly 2 billion seniors worldwide.

While we can regard this as good news, because each one of us is now likely to live longer, it will also be critical that these additional years are productive, enjoyable and disease free. There are two main and interconnected challenges associated with increased longevity. First, with longer lifespans and a wealth of accumulated experience, knowledge and wisdom, older adults are perfectly poised to contribute to society in an unprecedented manner, to truly use the potential of the "golden years." However, as a society, we are still learning how to best integrate older Americans into the work force. Second, the disorders and diseases of the aging population can significantly erode independence and well-being during the "golden years," and it is the task of biomedical scientists, in collaboration with health professionals, to understand the biology of aging and devise interventions and treatments to maintain function and promote health deep into the advanced age. 

Specific issues confronting older Americans include challenges of healthy aging – how to remain active and maintain function of vital body parts – but also how to deal with conditions that most frequently affect the elderly, including chronic diseases (e.g., osteoarthritis, diabetes, heart disease), neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's), cancer, infections and other geriatric syndromes (osteoporosis, sarcopenia – loss of muscles – and frailty).

The Arizona Center on Aging, or ACOA, one of the Arizona Board of Regents centers of excellence at The University of Arizona, is approaching the above challenges from a novel angle. Since I arrived at the UA a year ago, I have been leading the research component of ACOA, and particularly its Biology of Aging division, seeking to understand why we age and how different parts of our body change with aging. For example, why do some of us develop a loss in muscle mass and strength; a weakening of the bones, making them more likely to break; or a declining immune system that cannot fend off infections that were not a problem when we were younger? We look for answers at the level of cells and molecules of the body, examining fascinating biological processes that underlie the normal structure and function of tissues and organs and exploring how they change with normal aging and whether there is a disease process involved.

Research into the biology of aging, supported by the National Institute on Aging and fostered by organizations such as the American Aging Association (of which I am currently president), has been one of the most exciting areas in biomedicine in the past 15 to 20 years. Indeed, we now understand that many interventions can significantly increase lifespan in model organisms, including yeast, worms, flies, mice and even monkeys. Studies in humans are ongoing, but the most fascinating part of the story is that mechanisms of extended lifespan seem to be conserved between all these species, allowing a wide range of models to contribute to our understanding of aging. Moreover, in most, if not all, cases where biological or genetic intervention led to longer lifespan, the quality of additional lifespan was excellent. This, then, fulfills the main goal of gerontological research – living longer and living better.

But the Arizona Center on Aging does much more than that, and the current success and promising future of the ACOA lies in our unique ability to bring together basic researchers and clinicians – a place where research informs clinical care and clinical care informs research. In close collaboration with Dr. Mindy J. Fain, ACOA co-director and head of the section of geriatrics, our group is putting together a comprehensive program where bench research is fully integrated with clinical care, education and outreach, in a model that will be without par nationally and internationally.

For example, our discoveries on why older adults cannot fend off influenza and West Nile infections are telling us that a certain type of lymphocytes, called T-cells, need to be maintained and boosted over time in the elderly. We are now devising screening methods and treatments to identify those older adults that may not need any intervention (i.e., may have youthful immune systems), as well as those that need additional T-cell maintenance and boosting (e.g., new vaccines), and those who may need rejuvenation of their immune system. Once we verify this in a human population, we will start working with departments and centers at the Arizona Health Sciences Center to organize clinical trials and devise efficacious methods of application.

In parallel, ACOA will reach out to communities and advise on lifestyle and other changes that can be useful to promote the functioning of the immune system so that, ultimately, older adults in Arizona can directly benefit from new research. Similar scenarios apply to several other diseases and organs/systems – including diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which are common conditions in older Arizonans, and are currently investigated in collaboration with the Diabetes Research Group at the UA – or the role of inflammation in neurodegeneration and cognition, which is planned with the UA's McKnight Brain Institute.

So while the challenges are considerable, we are very enthusiastic that the vision of ACOA and the outstanding potential of researchers, clinicians and other College of Medicine, Arizona Health Sciences Center and larger UA personnel can come together and put the UA on the map as the international leader in aging research, clinical care and education. With the demographic trends and the considerable and growing population of older Arizonans and Americans, this is both our duty and our most rewarding goal.

Janko Nikolich-Zugich, MD, PhD, co-director of the Arizona Center on Aging, was elected president of the American Aging Association in June. The American Aging Association was founded in 1970 and is the premier national and international organization gathering biomedical scientists that work on biology of aging. Nikolich-Zugich is also head of the College of Medicine's department of immunobiology and is Bowman Professor of Medical Research at the UA. He is a member of the BIO5 Institute and the Arizona Cancer Center and a professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' nutrition department. 

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