The Ionic Hypothesis of Aging

The clinical association of essential hypertension with metabolic abnormalities, such as hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, obesity, altered glucose tolerance and/or frank non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) has long been appreciated(1). Each of the above clinical conditions is extremely frequent in the elderly. The association of these different clinical states, that is also common at younger ages, has been termed “Syndrome X” and more recently “Generalized Cardiovascular-Metabolic Disease.”(2,3) Although several hypothesis have been proposed, including a primary role of hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, the mechanism(s) of this linkage has not been established. This …