5 replies to this topic

[maestro949]

Perhaps this is another pathway that calorie restriction improves health as I would think that ghrelin is likely upregulated in those practicing CR.

...harnessing this pathway might provide a new approach to boost immune function in individuals who are elderly or immunocompromised.

Eureka Article: Hunger hormone fights aging in the thymus

Link to the PDF : Ghrelin promotes thymopoiesis during aging

Wiki: Ghrelin

[Lazarus Long]

Perhaps this is another pathway that calorie restriction improves health as I would think that ghrelin is likely upregulated in those practicing CR.

Good call IMO and more support to the evolutionary biology theory of CR working as systemic response that helps ensure survival through famine cycles. Remember we evolved through millions of years of feast-famine cycling.

I have long suspected that we are not going to find one mechanism but instead a complex relationship of multiple mechanisms that make up a tiered systemic response to starvation. However there are biological costs and too much of a good thing is still too little in this respect.

There are trade offs that should not be forgotten. Nutritional uptake in relation to physical expenditure balance for a healthy CR regimen becomes very critical because reserves in a sustained CR regimen are generally reduced to absolute biological minimums.

This also lends support to my assertion that dietary needs change during various phases of life and there is not a one size fits all solution. We must adapt and then keep adapting.

[JonesGuy]

I was looking at thymus/aging trends the other day. It seems to be a decent organ for intervention, mainly because it seems to have a fairly massive effect and also seems like the type of organ that isn't too hard to intervene in.

I'd think that some type of stem cell therapies would be good for rejuvenating the thymus. But then we risk all types of autoimmune diseases.

[maestro949]

This also lends support to my assertion that dietary needs change during various phases of life and there is not a one size fits all solution.  We must adapt and then keep adapting.

Most certainly. I"m convinced that with enough data we will be able to find an optimal caloric intake and nutritional makeup for every phase of life that most efficiently dampens the affects of aging.

When cancer & heart disease are finally under control they next big targets will be all the various amyloid buildups and finding ways to prop up the immune system. The latter seems like it's going to take awhile to figure out as it's function seems to be spread through many disparate systems. From the PDF...

Accordingly, it has been elegantly demonstrated that early thymocyte progenitors (ETPs) decline markedly with age and that these progenitors have an increased rate of apoptosis with reduced proliferative capacity (7). The precise mechanisms responsible for thymic involution with age remain to be identified and presumably involve complex multisystem interactions, wherein various cytokines, neuropeptides, and hormones influence immune compartment.

[caston]

I was looking at thymus/aging trends the other day.  It seems to be a decent organ for intervention, mainly because it seems to have a fairly massive effect and also seems like the type of organ that isn't too hard to intervene in.

I'd think that some type of stem cell therapies would be good for rejuvenating the thymus.  But then we risk all types of autoimmune diseases.

We wouldn't have that problem if the stem cells are patient specific. Hell if I wanted to be eaten by cannibals I'd go to PNG.

[manofsan]

So when resveratrol or other substances are mentioned as possible emulators of CR, then do they also emulate hunger hormone which helps protect the thymus?

Just wanna know how good resveratrol/etc are in comparison to genuine CR.