Aging and Life-Prolonging Processes

by V.V. Frolkis, N. Bobrov

Overview

There is an Inca incantation which stated said roughly: "Lord, give me spiritual peace so that I can acquiesce to what I cannot change, give me courage so that I can change what I can change, and give me wisdom so that I can distinguish one from the other. " Obviously, this incantation can be regularly repeated by any gerontologist, since it is very difficult to distinguish aging from the processes which enhance the organism's viability, aging from diseases, and the mechanisms of aging in various species of animals. According to N. Shock, who compiled a valuable bibliography of the works on aging, more than 43,000 works on gerontology have been published in the last decade. Why do we continue to disagree with one another and hold that the most important mechanisms are still largely unknown to us in spite of that flow of information and an enormous number of facts? What is it that we do not know? Could it be that we do not know the sole sacramental fact which can explain everything, such as the hormone of aging, the programmed triggering of a suicide gene, the appearance of a special toxic agent in the axoplasmic flow of substances, and so forth? Goethe once wrote that a scientist most often holds certain parts, but unfortunately he lacks their sacred link.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783709186510
Publisher:	Springer Vienna
Publication date:	03/14/2012
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1982
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.03(d)

Table of Contents

1. General Biology of Vitauct and Aging.- Vitauct and Aging.- General Regularities of Aging.- Mechanisms of the Life Span of a Species.- Aging and Evolution.- Aging and Diseases.- 2. Aging of the Brain.- General Direction of the Age Changes in the Brain.- Structural and Metabolic Changes in the Brain During Aging.- Change in the Brain Functions with Age.- 3. Hypothalamohypophysial Regulation During Aging.- Regulatory Effects of the Hypothalamus.- Hypothalamohypophysial Influences.- Mechanisms of Vasopressin Regulation.- Feed-backs in the System of Hypothalamohypophysial Regulation in Old Age.- Adaptive Reactions of the Hypothalamus in Old Age.- 4. Adrenergic Mechanisms of Regulation During Aging.- Effects of the Adrenergic Influences in Old Age.- Sympathetic Ganglia During Aging.- Catecholamine Metabolism.- 5. Cholinergic Mechanisms of Regulation During Aging.- Acetylcholine Metabolism.- Effects of Cholinergic Influences.- 6. Insulin Provision of the Organism During Aging.- Content of Insulin and Carbohydrate Tolerance.- Structural and Functional Changes in the Insular Apparatus.- Specifics of the Tissue Reaction to the Action of Insulin in Old Age.- Regulatory Mechanisms of Insulin Provision.- Influence of the Change in Insulin Provision on Metabolism.- 7. Thyroid Regulation in Old Age.- Structural and Functional Changes in the Thyroid Gland.- Thyroid Hormones in the Blood.- Hypothalamohypophysial Regulation of the Thyroid Gland Function.- Specifics of the Influence of Thyroid Hormones on Tissue in Old Age.- Feed-back Control of the Thyroid System.- Specifics of the Reactions of the Thyroid Control System.- 8. Neural Regulation of Tissue Trophism in Aging.- 9. Local Mechanisms of Humoral Regulation During Aging.- Cyclic Nucleotides.- Adenosine Metabolic System.- Kallikrein-Kinin System.- Serotonin.- Prostaglandins.- 10. Neurohumoral Mechanisms of the Regulation of the Genetic Apparatus.- Genoregulatory Hypothesis of the Processes of Vitauct and Aging.- Hormonal Regulation of the Genetic Induction of Enzymes.- Hypothalamohypophysial-Adrenal System of the Regulation of the Genetic Apparatus.- 11. Neurohumoral Regulation of the Energy Processes.- Oxidative and Glycolytic Phosphorylation During Aging.- Hormonal Mediatory Influences on the Energy Processes.- 12. Neurohumoral Mechanisms of Cellular Aging.- Sequence of Cellular Aging.- Membranogenetic Mechanisms of Cellular Aging.- Electric Properties of Cells During Aging.- 13. Neurohumoral Regulation of the Cardiovascular System.- Hemodynamics and Age.- Hemodynamic Centre in Aging.- Efferent Neurohumoral Regulation of the Cardiovascular System.- Reflexes of the Cardiovascular System.- Regulation of Coronary Blood Circulation in Old Age.- 14. Experimental Life Prolongation.- Criteria of the Life Span.- Influence of Physical, Chemical and Biological Factors on the Life Span.- Influence of Physical Factors on the Life Span.- Temperature.- Influence of Temperature on the Life Span of Warm-Blooded Animals.- Influence of Ionizing Radiation on the Life Span.- Influence of the Electric and Magnetic Fields on the Life Span.- Influence of the Chemical Factors on the Life Span.- Influence of Microelements and Chelating Agents on the Life Span.- Influence of Antioxidants on the Life Span.- Influence of the Stabilizers of the Lysosomal Membranes on the Life Span.- Influence of Latirogens on the Life Span.- Influence of Other Chemical Agents on the Life Span.- Influence of the Biological Factors on the Life Span.- Influence of the Low-Calorie or Low-Protein Diet on the Life Span.- Influence of Physical Activity on the Life Span.- Influence of the Hormones on the Life Span.- Influence of the Inhibitors of Protein Biosynthesis and Energy Metabolism on the Life Span.- Influence of the Genetic Factors on the Life Span.- In Lieu of a Conclusion.- References.