Author Description

This book based mainly on our own age pigment and ageing mechanism studies, although referring to a few important reviews in the related fields, which are indicated clearly in the text and references.The answer to the question of “why we age” is equivalent to the answer to the question of “what is life”. There are numerous theories about why and how we age, but until recently, the very possibility of how-to anti-ageing remains ambiguous. In this book, we focus on the biochemical points of view for a sub-molecular understanding of ageing mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on the carbonyl stress ageing (Chapter 5, Chapter 6).Though inherently complex, ageing is defined by a series of changes occurring at various levels of the biological hierarchy. Thus, we will examine some of the most significant phenotypes at different levels that occur during ageing. Namely, 1) the whole animal level; 2) the organ level; 3) the cellular level; 4) the molecular level; and 5) the sub-molecular (functional group) level. At the end, we will discuss the current state of emergent ageing therapies and the future of this research field in this book.Senescence in cells has long been used as a model for deciphering the mechanisms underlying the ageing process. Recent evidence demonstrates that DNA damage is a common mediator of both replicative senescence, which is induced by telomere shortening, and premature cellular senescence, which is induced by a variety of stressors, including oxidative and glycation stress.There is growing scientific consensus that redox regulators of the cell, such as antioxidants, may help reduce the incidence of certain pathologies, such as metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative abnormalities, and certain cancers, or may even have anti-aging properties.Although the mechanisms of ageing have become unexpectedly complicated in recent years, we demonstrate in this book that, while ageing is primarily regarded as a ph