Optimal Being

Cold activates a cellular cleansing mechanism that breaks down harmful protein aggregations responsible for various diseases associated with aging. In recent years, studies on different model organisms have already shown that life expectancy increases significantly when body temperature is lowered. However, precisely how this works has still been unclear in many areas. A research team at the University of Cologne's CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research has now unlocked one responsible mechanism. The study appears in  Nature Aging . Professor Dr. David Vilchez and his working group used a non-vertebrate model organism, the  nematode  Caenorhabditis elegans, and cultivated human cells. Both carried the genes for two  neurodegenerative diseases  that typically occur in old age: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington's disease. Both diseases are characterized by accumulations of harmful and damaging protein deposits—so-called pathological protein...

Metformin is widely prescribed for type 2 diabetes; it improves glucose metabolism and thereby reduces diabetic complications. How it works is not well-understood, but we know that metformin mostly interacts with signaling molecules in the liver, gut, and kidney. Results vary according to the dosage and duration of metformin treatment. Metformin has multiple mechanisms of action, which likely account for its anticystic, antitumor, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and longevity effects. Metformin and glucose metabolism Diabetes is an age accelerator. Compared to non-diabetic individuals, the phenotypic age (PhAge) of individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes is 12.02 and 16.32 years higher, respectively [1]. Metformin helps normalize glucose levels and therefore may slow changes in PhAge. Metformin’s journey in the body begins with gut cells called enterocytes. Metformin carries a positive charge, which makes it relatively easy to cross the negatively charged cell membrane. Further,...