Re: Insulin Resistance, Weight Gain Lead to Early Aging

[Guest guest]

Hi Mike:

How interesting that is. Could it be that the connection between

caloric intake and rate of aging is as simple as the

increased 'loads' (of many different kinds) the body has to endure

with excess caloric intake causing **more frequent** cell division,

and the faster shortening of telomeres this inevitably entails?

Eventually (sooner if cell division is more frequent) the telomeres

become so short that the cell no longer functions properly.

I have always liked the 'telomere-shortening' theory of aging.

Although no doubt it is only one of a number of difficulties that

will have to be fixed before aging is cured. Geron seems already to

have the capacity to fix telomere shortening. At least in a petrie

dish.

Rodney.

--- In , " mikesheldrick " <mike@s...>

wrote:

> Guess we knew this...

>

> Too fresh for a pubmed listing(?), but here's the Press Release.

>

> Mike

>

> Insulin Resistance, Weight Gain Lead to Early Aging

> Libraries

> Medical News Keywords

> INSULIN RESISTANCE, AGING, OBESITY

> Contact Information

>

> Available for logged-in reporters only

> Description

>

> Tulane University researchers demonstrate that people with insulin

> resistance and weight gain also have prematurely shortened white

> blood cell telomeres -- a widely recognized sign of aging.

>

>

>

> Newswise — Tulane University researchers are the first to

> demonstrate a biological link between insulin resistance, weight

> gain and signs of early aging in the blood. Obesity has long been

> known to result in early death, but researchers don't fully

> understand the process of aging at the cellular level. In a study

> published in this month's Circulation, Tulane University

researchers

> demonstrate that people with insulin resistance and weight gain

also

> have prematurely shortened white blood cell telomeres - a widely

> recognized sign of aging. Telomeres are part of each chromosome and

> naturally become shorter over time as cells multiply and reproduce.

>

> " We know that obesity and insulin resistance place a physical

burden

> on the body, leading to inflammation, the production of more blood

> to feed the body, and oxidative stress, all of which are important

> factors in the biology of aging, " says cardiologist Gerald

Berenson,

> co-author of the study.

>

> " It makes sense that we would see other signs of aging, like

> shortening of the white blood cell telomeres, as well, " Berenson

> says.

>

> Researchers analyzed blood drawn from 49 adults who participated in

> the Bogalusa Heart Study at least twice between 1988 and 2001.

> Researchers also analyzed data related to weight, blood pressure

and

> diet and lifestyle factors. The researchers found that as people's

> weight and insulin resistance increased, they also experienced a

> shortening of the telomeres of their white blood cells.

>

> Insulin resistance is a reduced sensitivity in the tissues of the

> body to the action of insulin, a hormone that brings blood sugar

> (glucose) to those tissues to be used as a source of energy. To

> compensate, the body works harder to produce more insulin while at

> the same time failing to lower blood sugar levels.

>

> The Bogalusa Heart Study is the longest-running, biracial,

community-

> based study of heart disease risk factors beginning in childhood in

> the world. Since its inception in 1973, Berenson and his staff have

> screened over 16,000 adults and children in the Bogalusa, La. area

> in an effort to understand heart disease risk factors over the

> lifespan. Children who began the study in the 1970s while they were

> in elementary school are now adults who continue to participate in

> the screening process. Moving from a pediatric study, the

> investigators now are studying aging. Funding for the research

comes

> from the National Institutes on Aging and Heart, Lung and Blood.