Scientists uncover aging mystery

New research from the University of Calgary may be the key to slowing down the aging process.

Researchers made the discovery while studying Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), a rare and devastating condition that speeds up aging in children. Children with HGPS die at around age 16 from diseases associated with the elderly, such as heart disease and stroke.

How HGPS is linked to normal aging
HGPS happens when a structural protein in your cells, called Lamin, mutates. This protein forms a meshwork in the centre of your cells, maintains the shape of the nucleus and makes sure everything is organized and working properly. Lead researcher Karl Riabowol, from the University of Calgary's faculty of medicine, has just found that another protein interacts with Lamin -- it's a family of tumour suppressors called Inhibitors of Growth (INGS) that inhibits the growth of cells. What this means is INGS are also involved in cell aging and cancer.

"If we mess up this interaction, even in normal cells, the cells begin to look progeric (prematurely aged). So we have direct evidence that our ING proteins play a major role in causing this progeria syndrome based on the Lamin mutation," says Riabowol. "The same thing happens in normal aging cells but at a much slower rate. Normal aging appears to be a much, much slower variety of the same thing that happens in these progeric kids."

Why we age
We age because our cells age. They slowly lose the ability to replicate and divide until they can no longer divide. While the normal, healthy cells slow down and stop, cancerous cells have the ability to divide forever. "Since cancer is a disease of aging, [the findings] may also be telling us things about how normal aging is linked to cancer and how cancer cells evade the normal aging process."

Riabowol and his team's next challenge is to determine just how cell division is controlled during the normal aging process and try to find a way to extend the replicable life of healthy cells.

How to stop the clock now
In the meantime, Riabowol says there are simple things most people can do to slow down the aging process:

- Maintain a healthy diet

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- Consume fewer calories (but first, ask your doctor if it's safe to do so)
- Exercise regularly to reduce the risks of premature morbidity and death

- Protect your immune system from infections -- wash your hands frequently, keep your hands away from your face, follow a healthy diet and get your flu shot!

The average Canadian lifespan
According to reports from Statistics Canada, the average lifespan for Canadians is 80.2. So if you take all aforementioned steps to prolong your life, how many years can you add to your life?

"We believe that the maximum lifespan of people should be 120 if you do everything right based on how long people have lived around the world," says Riabowol.

Best of all, your longer life can be a healthy one. "A healthy lifespan is not a pipe dream; it's a likelihood," says Riabowol."It wouldn't surprise me at all if the average lifespan reached 100 in the next few decades."

Ready to maximize your longevity? Find out what you can eat to look and feel younger with 16 anti-aging foods.

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