6533b7d6fe1ef96bd1265a54

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Exercise as a calorie restriction mimetic. Implications for the treatment of age associated frailty

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The free radical theory of aging has provided a theoretical framework for an enormous amount of work leading to advances in our understanding of aging. A critical blow to the free radical theory of aging came from epidemiological studies showing that antioxidant supplementation did not lower the incidence of age-associated diseases. However, work from many laboratories supports the theory, for instance showing that overexpression of antioxidant enzymes results in increases not only in life-span but also in health-span. Improving healthy aging means delaying disability. Disability is often preceded by a state characterized by reduced capacity to respond to stressors, caused by a decline in functional reserves. This condition, frailty, might precede by several years the development of disability. We have recently found that a mouse model with overexpression of G6PD have lower levels of ROS-derived damage and this is accompanied by a protection from frailty. Two interventions with translational potential to improve healthy aging are caloric restriction and exercise training. Both of them share a common protective molecular mechanism, a reduction in oxidative damage through the induction of the antioxidant defense.