Sign of Aging Reversed by Simple Exercise

Scientists have identified a new sign of biological aging that may be reversible through simple exercise.

Most of us see aging as an inevitable process of life, but some scientists are beginning to consider it a disease that we can treat or at least delay.

"The idea that we could reverse aging is something that was long considered science fiction, but these findings do allow us to understand a lot more about the aging process," said Riekelt Houtkooper, Professor of Translational Metabolism at Amsterdam University Medical Centre, said in a statement.

As we age, certain molecules begin to build up in our cells and contribute to their gradual decline. These molecules offer an enticing target for treating age-related diseases and aging in general. The only problem is, for the most part we don't know what they are.

In a study published in the journal Nature Aging, Houtkooper and his Amsterdam University colleagues set about finding one of these aging-related molecules and potential methods for reversing its accumulation.

"Aging biomarkers are important because they will help us tracking the effects of anti-aging treatments," Houtkooper told Newsweek. "In addition, they provide insight into the mechanisms of aging, i.e. to help us understand what causes aging so we can develop new treatments."

The team targeted their focus towards a large group of fatty and waxy molecules called lipids, which play a range of roles around the body. For example, they help us absorb vitamins, move and store energy, and form the basis of our cell membranes, which separate the insides of our cells from their surroundings.

Indeed, previous studies in animals have shown that concentrations of certain lipids may also play a role in age-related disease and longevity.

The problem is, there are hundreds of different lipids in our bodies, which makes it difficult to know which ones are responsible for age-related decline.

To home in on a target, the researchers compared the concentrations of over 1,200 unique lipids in the bodies of old and young mice. And from these hundreds of lipids, one molecule stood out as a clear culprit in the older mice: bis(monoacylglycerol)phosphate, or BMP.

BMP has previously been associated with various neurodegenerative diseases, cellular disorders and cancer, so the fact that it was present in higher concentrations in the aging mice was a promising sign. However, the team still had to demonstrate this association in humans.

To address this, the team collected muscle biopsies from around 50 old and young participants and compared the levels of this BMP lipid in their cells.

"Strikingly, assessing how individual BMP species changed with age revealed a strong accumulation of these in both men and women," the authors write.

Lastly, the team needed to find out whether this BMP accumulation could be reversed. To do so, they turned to a cohort of 12 healthy postmenopausal women who were overweight and had a sedentary lifestyle. The women were given one of three four-day activity regimens: a sitting regime, which involved 14 hours of sitting per day; an exercising regime, involving 13 hours of sitting and one hour of exercise; and an intermediary regime, involving nine hours of sitting a day, three hours of standing and two hours of walking.

Muscle biopsies were collected on the fifth day of each intervention and analyzed for BMP.

After just four days of moderate to vigorous exercise, the women had significant reductions in their levels of BMP. These reductions were also dose-dependent, meaning that the intermediary regime still delivered a reduction in BMP levels, albeit by a smaller amount.

"These results are an important new step for our understanding of the aging process," Houtkooper said.

However, the results are by no means a final answer. "We plan to conduct follow-up studies to better understand how BMPs contribute to aging, what are the consequences of BMP accumulation on the aging process, and whether this can only be influenced by exercise or are the other ways to affect BMPs levels," Houtkooper said.

Because of the small number of participants involved in the study, the researchers say larger studies are needed to confirm their results. Even so, their findings offer an exciting avenue for future research in anti-aging therapeutics.

"Everyone says that 'it's just part of getting older,' but this doesn't actually have to be true," said Georges Janssens, the paper's first author and an assistant professor at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, in a statement. "By understanding more about the aging process, we can also look into new ways of intervening."

But as exciting as an "anti-aging pill" might be, these results also suggest that the best anti-aging medicine may be our lifestyle.

'There is no magic bullet to treat aging and age-related diseases," Houtkooper said. "The main way to slow down signs of aging is to remain physically active. And moderation in terms of food intake, ideally a diverse diet would be good."

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