Aging How to Be Younger
Contents: 1. Aging. 2. Definition of aging. 3. Symptoms of aging. 4. An overview of aging and of aging theories. 5. Changes in the body. 6. Evolution theory and species specific aging. 7. Sex and aging. 8. Aging of other organ systems. 9. The free radical theory of aging. 10. Mitochondria and aging. 11. Disorders in older people. 12. Indirect influences on health. 13. Disorders of accelerated aging. 14. Gerontology. 15. Memory and aging. 16. Reliability theory of aging and longevity. 17. Life extension. 18. The glycation theory of aging. 19. Protein damage and maintenance in aging. 20. DNA damage and DNA repair. 21. Telomeres and aging. 22. Cellular senescence and apoptosis in aging. 23. Accelerated aging diseases. 24. Longevity genes flies and worms. 25. Longevity genes mammals. 26. Sirtuins and deacetylases in aging. 27. Hormones and aging. 28. Antioxidant. 29. The immune system and aging. 30. Inflammation and aging. 31. Accumulation of toxins and chemical garbage. 32. Cancer and aging. 33. Biomarkers of aging. 34. Caloric restriction with adequate nutrition. 35. Other methods to slow aging. 36. Regenerative medicine, stem cells and rejuvenation. 37. Aging: cause and cure summary and conclusions.
Increase in life expectancy is arguably the most remarkable by product of modern economic growth. In the last 30 years we have gained roughly 2.5 years of longevity every decade, both in Europe and the United States. Successfully managing ageing and longevity over the next twenty years is one of the major structural challenges faced by policy makers in advanced economies, particularly in health spending, social security administration, and labour market institutions. This book looks closely into those challenges and identifies the fundamental issues at both the macroeconomic and micro-economic level. The first half of the book studies the macroeconomic relationships between health spending, technological progress in medical related sectors, economic growth, and welfare sate reforms. In the popular press, longevity and population ageing are typically perceived as a tremendous burden. However, with a proper set of reforms, advanced economies have the option of transforming the enormous challenge posed by longevity into a long term opportunity to boost aggregate outcomes. The basic prerequisite of a healthy ageing scenario is a substantial structural reform in social security and in labour market institutions. The second part of the book looks closely into the microeconomic relationship between population ageing and productivity, both at the individual and at the firm level. There is surprisingly little research on such key questions. The book contributes to this debate in two ways. It presets a detailed analysis of the determinants of productivity, with a focus on both the long-run historical evolution and the cross sectional changes. It also uses econometric analysis to look into the determinants of the various dimensions of individual productivity. The volume concludes that the complex relationship between population ageing and longevity is not written in stone, and can be modified by properly designed choices.
