Ageing: new insights
Reginald Deschepper (68) is a medical anthropologist and an expert in lifestyle and ageing. He is a professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he conducted research into lifestyle medicine and the science of rejuvenation. He was required to retire at sixty-five, but he has no intention of stopping work any time soon. He brought his knowledge together and wrote two books: ‘Your lifestyle as medicine’ and ‘Younger every year: the science of rejuvenation, or how to outsmart time’.
The insights described in this article are based on scientific research and the personal views of the interviewee. For many of these topics, there are (as yet) no health claims approved by the EFSA. This article is for information purposes and does not replace medical advice.
In your book ‘Younger every year’ you say that the science of ageing and rejuvenation has accelerated over the past 25 years. Why?
“A major milestone is that we understand the main causes of ageing and can see that it isn’t that difficult to slow the process down, stop it, and even reverse it. One of those main causes, for example, is the ageing of our DNA. As we get older, a layer forms on the DNA that makes the information in the DNA unreadable. The body needs that information to make proteins, and those proteins in turn have functions in our body. When the shape of proteins changes, this is linked to various age-related conditions. Compare that layer to scratches on a CD. The result is that the music no longer plays properly. But if you can remove those scratches, the music on the CD is still there and you can listen to it again. It works the same way with our DNA: if we remove that layer, the information is still present and proteins with the correct shape can be produced again. This is one of the ways researchers are looking at influencing cellular processes associated with ageing.”
This sounds spectacular. What other causes of ageing can you identify?
“Another example is senescent cells. These are cells that have aged and, in principle, should die off and be replaced by new cells. But as we get older, this process deteriorates and these cells linger. They become zombie cells that damage healthy cells in their surroundings. Researchers are now developing medicines to clear away these zombie cells. This area of research is receiving a lot of attention because of its potential implications for understanding ageing.” “The microbiome also plays a role in various processes studied in the body, including its interaction with nutrition. As we age, these kinds of processes decline.”
Are these the main causes of ageing?
“In science, we distinguish around fifteen causes of this kind. And each scientist carries out their own research into how we can slow, stop, or even reverse such a cause. By intervening in just one cause you can already make a considerable impact. But we also know that tackling two causes has more impact than the sum of the parts: one plus one makes three. That’s why we really are on the threshold of an era in which a great deal could change.”
Is there a study, innovation or insight that stands out for you?
“Professor David Sinclair recently published a study that the journal Nature announced with the headline Turning back time. He succeeded in restoring eye cells in mice. A typical problem: as you get older, your eyesight gets worse. He found a way to turn back the biological clock of those eye cells and was able to show that previously blind mice could see again. This provides initial evidence for the theory that we can not only slow the life course of our cells, but also reverse it. And if it works with eye cells, it could also work with heart or nerve cells. A lot more research still needs to be done, for example in mice, worms and yeast cells. But if we succeed in humans, this would be an enormous breakthrough: the potential to turn back our biological clock.”
How was Sinclair able to turn back the biological clock of those eye cells?
“In this study, Sinclair builds on the work of Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka. He previously discovered that there are four genes present in everyone, in every cell. We also call these the Yamanaka factors. Those genes are inactive now, but we can reactivate them. If we do that, the biological clock starts to run backwards. It’s fascinating and unbelievable! At first, a practical problem arose: cells became so young that they turned back into embryonic cells, and from there could become all sorts of things again. A skin cell could therefore potentially become a brain cell, or worse: a cancer cell. Sinclair has now solved that problem. Instead of manipulating four genes, he manipulates three. And he manages to turn the clock back in such a way that the cells do become younger, but not so young that they become embryonic cells.”
This sounds almost like science fiction. Do you think we’ll still live to see these kinds of techniques, or is this truly a thing of the future?
“A realistic expectation is that these kinds of techniques will become possible for most people within their lifetime. I can imagine that you’ll be able to go to the doctor from time to time to get a vaccine that activates a number of these mechanisms and therefore turns back your biological age. That sounds like science fiction, but it isn’t. We’re already testing it and we’re succeeding in laboratory animals. The first studies now suggest that it may also be possible in humans.”
Are there things you can already do today to grow old ‘younger’?
“To age more slowly, it’s important to eat healthily, keep moving, manage stress well, maintain social contacts, get enough sleep and find a sense of purpose in life. In short: a healthy lifestyle is the foundation. You can start at any age, and at any age it has an effect. For example, research has been done on older people in a care home and it was seen that even at eighty-five they could still create a beneficial effect. But it’s also true that the earlier you start, the more impact you can make. My advice, then, is to look for a healthy lifestyle that you can sustain for life. Choose, for instance, healthy foods you also enjoy and a form of exercise you take pleasure in.”
Many people will read this and think: I already live fairly healthily—how do I find out where I stand now? What would you say to them?
“One yardstick is your biological age, which shows how far along you are in the ageing process and can differ by quite a few years from your chronological age. We know, for example, that how your skin looks correlates strongly with your biological age. So that gives you a good indication. There are also scales that can determine your metabolic age, ways to measure the strength of your grip, or blood tests that map biomarkers such as inflammation levels. This can help you gain more insight into where you are now.”
“I aim for an optimal concentration of nutrients in the body to keep my biological clock running as slowly as possible.”
And if I already live healthily, are there still extra things I can do—things you, as an expert, also apply in your own life?
“Absolutely. The idea that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ can also be applied to the ageing process. One example: if you sit in a sauna all day, you won’t come out alive. But if you go for just fifteen minutes, all sorts of processes are activated that make us stronger. The same applies to stress from cold, which you can manipulate, for example, with an ice bath. I regularly step into the sauna myself.”
Written by: Ariana Schmikli
