Decrease in Human Aging Rate Since the Middle of the 20th Century.

The plot of the mortality rate minus the constant A of the Gompertz-Makeham equation and the plot of the mortality intensity increment d(m) reflect the actual rate of biological aging. It was shown that since the middle of the 20th century there has been a slowdown in aging for all the countries of the world that were studied (for available periods in the history), in all parameters: R0 and k coefficients of the Gompertz equation, mortality intensity increment d(m) and maximum life span. The slowdown in the aging rate of continues to the present. The probable cause is a significant improvement in medical and social care and quality of life since the mid-20th century and the possible influence of the therapy of chronic diseases on the aging processes.

Effect of Alpha-Fetoprotein on Lifespan of Old Mice.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is one of the best-known embryo-specific proteins. It is used to diagnose fetal abnormalities and tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. AFP has pronounced immunotropic and detoxifying effect and a direct apoptotic effect on tumor cells. The treatment of mice at the oldest age in our experiments with AFP dramatically increased the survival and markedly increased the relative weight of immunotropic organs, apparently due to the general effect of AFP in improving functions of tissues and detoxifying actions. It also improved appearance and the relative weight of internal organs with a reduced age of autoaggression.

[Biological Age as a Method for Systematic Assessment of Ontogenetic Changes in the State of an Organism].

Aging is a common feature of living and nonliving systems as a disturbance of the structure of the system accumulating with age. The only cause of aging of a living system, which is capable of renewal, is the insufficiency of renewal. The latter manifests itself as two global mechanisms of aging: the genetically determined nonrenewal of a number of structures that can only die with age (stochastic aging) and the regulatory reduction in the rate of self-renewal of living structures. The regulatory reduction in cellular self-renewal (cell growth and division) is most important. At the same chronological age, the degree of aging of the organism in general, as well as individual organs, cells, and systems of the organism, may be different, reflecting the concept of biological age (BA)--an indicator of the level of development, changes, or deterioration of a structure or function of an element of the organism, a functional system, or the organism as a whole. It is expressed in units oftime by relating the values of biomarkers defining the processes of aging with the standard average statistical dependences of changes in these biomarkers with the chronological age. The concept of BA is directly related to the concept of viability of the organism, which is determined by the sum (integral) of viabilities of its parts (in practice, the residual functional resource). For quantitative characterization of aging in general, the index of integrated biological age is used. To give a detailed characterization, the partial biological ages are used, which reflect the aging of different systems of the organism, as well as a number of indices reflecting its functional and psychological possibilities. The contribution of pathological processes to BA is also taken into account. In addition, the amount of retained adaptive reserves in the physical and nervous and mental aspects, the risk factors, and the factors of longevity should be determined. For this purpose, it is necessary to take into account the family history (hereditary factors) and the individual history (acquired factors). The use ofthe BA determination method by doctors in clinical practice stimulates the development of preventive medicine, which is important to improve both the individual health and the quality of life. The BA determination method is also the main tool for testing the effectiveness of tools and methods of geroprophylaxis.

[Biological age as an index of human health level, aging and ecological well-being].

Methodology of estimating the integral health and aging level is based on the system index of biological age (BA). The paper introduces the reader to the BA principles and structure, search for meaningful aging biomarkers, useful tests, and applications in present-day biomedicine. The concept of BA is directly linked with the theory of organism vitality. BA biomarkers must provide a detailed picture of the process of aging. Number of biomarkers cannot be large, while their changes with aging must be uniform in every population member and fairly distinct though with moderate interindividual variations. Prognosis of the vital trajectory requires estimation of risk factors, i.e. hereditary and acquired factors that affect lifespan, and also longevity factors, i.e. genetic and environmental factors crucial for clinical medicine and gerontological prophylaxis properly. At present, BA gains wide recognition in clinical and preventive medicine, physiology and biology as a method to evaluate the general state of health, ecological well-being, adaptation to extreme factors, as well as the rate and degree of organism aging.

[The system theory of aging: methodological principles, basic tenets and applications].

The paper deals with the system theory of aging constructed on the basis of present-day scientific methodology--the system approach. The fundamental cause for aging is discrete existence of individual life forms, i.e. living organisms which, from the thermodynamic point of view, are not completely open systems. The primary aging process (build-up of chaos and system disintegration of aging organism) obeys the second law of thermodynamics or the law of entropy increase in individual partly open systems. In living organisms the law is exhibited as synergy of four main aging mechanisms: system "pollution" of organism, loss of non-regenerative elements, accumulation of damages and deformations, generation of variability on all levels, and negative changes in regulation processes and consequent degradation of the organism systematic character. These are the general aging mechanisms; however, the regulatory mechanisms may be important equally for organism aging and search for ways to prolong active life.

[Potentiality of correction of the antioxidant enzyme system with electrically activated solutions]. / Vozmozhnosti korrektsii élektroaktivirovannymi rastvorami fermentov antioksidantnoi sistemy.

Electrochemically activated solution (ECAS) exerts effects on the activity of antioxidative enzymes (catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase), by causing an increase in the reduced activity of the enzymes and a reduction in their superactivity. The baseline activity of enzymes is subject to expressed individual variations in both animals and man. The cause of ECAS effects is, probably, the training of the antioxidative system due to the excess of electrons at the negative redox ECAS potential.

Effects of electroactivated solutions on antioxidant enzymes.

Electrochemically activated systems normalized activity of antioxidant enzymes catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase. The baseline activity of antioxidant enzymes considerably varies in humans and animals. This effect of electrochemically activated systems having negative oxidation-reduction potential was probably related to a training effect of excess electrons.

[A resonance mechanism of immunomodulation by weak pulse currents (experimental study)]. / Rol' monokinov v razvitii immunnogo otveta pri fizicheskoi nagruzke i vvedenii éssentsiale.

The specific features of weak pulse current effects on immune rosette-formation in mice have been investigated. It has been demonstrated that there is a possible resonance (in the range of narrow values) mechanism of immunomodulation in mice with weak pulse currents. The parameters of this effect have been defined. These include 543 kHz, triangular or quadratic signal form with 5-10-min exposure just after animal immunization for immunostimulation and 4 hours later for immunosuppression. The resonance mechanism is one of the determinants when low-intensity factors have an influence on the body, which makes one use therapeutically safe and weak physical and other factors.

[The close-resonance stimulation of antibody formation in mice with weak-pulse currents]. / Uzkorezonansnoe stimulirovanie antiteloobrazovaniia u myshei slabymi impul'snymi tokami.

The special feature of weak-pulse current effects on immune rosette formation has been investigated in mice. Stimulation of PFC generation could be made in the murine spleen 4 days after immunisation on 5-10-minute weak-pulse current exposure during 1 hour after immunisation. The parameters of signal was: 543 kHz frequency and triangular or quadratic signal form, that is typical for resonance mechanism of different stimuli. The resonance mechanism may be the basis for the influence of low-intensity factors on the body, which allows the low-intensity physical and other exposures to be used in clinical practice.

[Changes in the number of neuromediator receptors on murine lymphocytes in ontogeny]. / Izmenenie chisla retseptorov k neiromediatoram na limfotsitakh myshei v ontogeneze.

It has being shown by radiological methods of evaluation of the binding sites with adrenergic, cholinergic and neuropeptide agents that during mice ontogenesis the number of binding sites to these agents is progressively declined. The cAMP accumulation by lymphoid cells after contact with adrenaline is declined also. The regularities shown may reflect processes of the immune change during the age.

[The use of liposomes for a study of cAMP transport by lymphocyte membranes]. / Ispol'zovanie liposom dlia izucheniia transporta tsAMF membranami limfotsitov.

The liposomes with incorporated membranes of SC+ lymphocytes, confirmed by ELISA, were obtained. The membranes of this type of lymphocytes but not thymocytes were capable of 3H-cAMP transport into the liposomes. As anti-SC serum inhibited this process, the SC components of lymphocyte membrane may take part in it.

[The effect of lymphocytes on the growth of transplanted adenocarcinoma of the colon in mice]. / Vliianie limfotsitov na rost perevivaemoi adenokartsinomy tolstogo kishechnika u myshei.

The activation of spleen lymphocytes during tumour growth on the syngeneic mice has been shown. The activated lymphocytes were able to restore the tumour growth after cyclophosphane induction of immunodeficiency. Activated lymphocytes of mice acted the same way with liver regeneration and isoproterenol induction of salivary gland hyperplasia. The inhibitory effect of lymphocytes has been also shown during this process. Both stimulation and inhibition were the function of the ThyI lymphocytes. The regularities shown may reflect important processes of cell proliferation regulation in multicellular organisms.