Even the brain gets old. The loss of cognitive ability is linked to neurobiological changes, such as the thinning of the cerebral cortex. Today it is possible to measure this process and intervene both to slow it down and to recover what has been lost.
Along our lives, the genetic code contained in our cells accumulates small damages and the telomeres, the ends of the chromosomes, shorten, making it even less stable. Two phenomena linked to the ageing process and diseases of old age
As the immune system ages, it undergoes alterations and becomes less efficient. This is how processes such as immunosenescence and inflammaging affect it, exposing us to an increased risk of infection by pathogens such as the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
The elderly are more susceptible to infections such as coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 due to phenomena such as immunosenescence and inflammation. At their origin, however, there are epigenetic changes that we can influence through our lifestyle.
115 years is the estimated intrinsic capacity of the human being to live. But how long we live, and how we live, does not depend solely on our genes. Epigenetic studies have shown that there are mechanisms that can repair DNA damage and increase longevity.
