Prevention and Treatment of Age-related Diseases Edited by

suresh i.s. rattan and moustapha kassem;

Aging is a progressive accumulation of molecular damage in nucleic acids, proteins
and lipids. The inefficiency and failure of maintenance, repair and turnover pathways
is the main cause of age-related accumulation of damage, which is also the basis of all
age-related diseases. Research in molecular gerontology is aimed at understanding the
genetic and epigenetic regulation of molecular mechanisms at the levels of transcription,
post-transcriptional processing, post-translational modifications, and interactions among
various gene products. Concurrently, several approaches are being tried and tested to
modulate aging. The ultimate aim of such studies is to improve the quality of human life
in old age and prolong the health-span. Various gerontomodulatory approaches include
gene therapy, hormonal supplementation, nutritional modulation and intervention by free
radical scavengers and other molecules. A recent approach is that of applying hormesis in
aging research and therapy, which is based on the principle of stimulation of maintenance
and repair pathways by repeated exposure to mild stress. A combination of molecular,
physiological and psychological modulatory approaches can be effective to prevent and/or
treat various age-related diseases