THE AGING PROCESS - MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR DISEASE AND DEATH
THE AGING PROCESS - MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR DISEASE AND DEATH
复制标题
DOI：
10.1073/pnas.88.12.5360
复制
发表时间：
1991-06-01
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
HARMAN, D
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
HARMAN, D
衰老是伴随年龄增长而发生的一系列变化的累积，以及相关的疾病和死亡机会的逐渐增加。随着与环境和疾病相关的老龄化变化接近不可减少的水平，发达国家出生时的平均预期寿命目前正接近平台值。在发达国家，先天衰老过程现在是28岁左右以后患病和死亡的主要风险因素，并将出生时的平均预期寿命限制在85岁左右。这些国家今后要大幅度提高平均预期寿命————这是衡量健康的、有生产力的寿命，即功能寿命的一个粗略指标————只有通过减缓老龄化过程中产生老化变化的速度才能实现。人们提出了许多理论来解释衰老过程。简要讨论了自由基老化理论。增加功能性寿命的重要性决定了衰老假说需要探索实现这一目标的实际手段，同时继续努力就衰老过程的原因达成共识。通过传统方法进一步延长功能性寿命的努力现在几乎是徒劳的，而那些旨在减缓衰老过程的努力才刚刚开始。这些新的努力显示出希望。
Aging is the accumulation of changes responsible for the sequential alterations that accompany advancing age and the associated progressive increases in the chance of disease and death. Average life expectancies at birth in the developed countries are now approaching plateau values as the aging changes associated with the environment and disease near irreducible levels. The inborn aging process is now the major risk factor for disease and death after around age 28 in the developed countries and limits average life expectancy at birth to approximately 85 years. Future significant increases in average life expectancy - a rough measure of the healthy, productive life-span, i.e., the functional life-span - in these countries will be achieved only by slowing the rate of production of aging changes by the aging process. Many theories have been advanced to account for the aging process. The free radical theory of aging is discussed briefly. The importance attached to increasing the functional life-span dictates that aging hypotheses be explored for practical means of achieving this goal while work continues toward a consensus on the cause(s) of the aging process. Efforts to further increase the functional life-span by conventional measures are now almost futile, whereas those directed toward slowing the aging process are just beginning. These new efforts show promise.