Scientists have revealed that no one, not even a person who has passed the age of one hundred, dies just because of age. Until now, we believed that old age in itself weakens the body and gradually leads to its failure. However, new research from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases suggests that old age is not the real cause of death, informs
Rather, it is a matter of the biological clock when specific diseases take over the body and eventually lead to death. An analysis of 2,410 autopsies revealed that the most common cause of death is circulatory system diseases. Heart disease, especially heart attacks, accounted for up to 39% of cases and many remained undetected until autopsy.
Even among centenarians who appeared healthy, autopsies showed that they did not die “of old age.” Almost 70% of them died from heart disease, a quarter from lung failure and smaller percentages from other organ disorders. This research also influenced the industry of anti-aging drugs, which according to scientists do not stop the aging process itself, but they only delay the onset of a particular disease.
Scientists hypothesize that known signs of aging, such as persistent dead cells, damaged DNA or frayed ends of chromosomes, may not be direct killers, but rather symptoms of a deeper aging process and a state of increased susceptibility to fatal diseases such as heart failure.
They point out that most experiments investigating signs of aging have only been tested on old animals. Therefore, it is not clear whether these interventions slow actual aging or merely treat pre-existing symptoms. For example, the so-called “zombie cells”. Damaged cells that do not die but remain in the body and release inflammatory chemicals. They contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis, cancer and diabetes.
These signs are not the direct cause of death listed on the death certificate. Rather, they are indicators of a weakened body that is then more likely to succumb to a diagnosable fatal disease such as heart attack, stroke or organ failure. In the past, aging research was shaped for a long time by assumptions that may not fully take into account complexity.
Scientists say that removing these cells may improve the health of old bodies, but may not slow down the actual aging process of the whole organism. Also, the biological clock, which is supposed to predict the biological age and the risk of death, only monitors the signs of aging, not its real cause. Man’s Achilles heel is not old age. It is a failure of the circulatory system and specific diseases.
