A new study suggests people should stop looking at the free radical theory as an aging culprit, and start seeing it as a way to actually increase the lifespan of cells.
Free radicals are unpaired electrons that are constantly in search of their pairs. As a result, they cause damage to surrounding molecules. Once in action, they deteriorate plastics, fade paints, degrade arts, causes aging diseases and trigger heart disease, stroke and cancer. Humans often take in antioxidants to fight the effects of free radicals.
McGill University professor and lead study author Siegfried Hekimi, worked with colleagues to use roundworm C.elegans in tests. They hypothesized that free radicals had beneficial uses to prolong lives.
Their observations of the roundworm exposed to free radicals revealed that it caused the cells of the subject to commit suicide to increase its defense mechanism and prolong lifespan.
"People believe that free radicals are damaging and cause aging, but the so-called 'free radical theory of aging' is incorrect," said Prof. Hekimi in a press release. "We have turned this theory on its head by proving that free radical production increases during aging because free radicals actually combat - not cause - aging. In fact, in our model organism we can elevate free radical generation and thus induce a substantially longer life."
Researchers believed that the results of their study could be used in the development of treatments to slow down aging that will be useful to patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
"In the brain, the apoptotic signaling might be particularly tilted toward increasing the stress resistance of damaged cells rather than killing them. That's because it is harder to replace dead neurons than other kinds of cells, partly because of the complexity of the connections between neurons," Prof. Hekimi added.
Results of this finding were published on the May 8 issue of the journal Cell.
