Towards Adjustment of the Gut Microbiome to Slow Aging
This paper makes the reasonable argument that means of modestly slowing aging will emerge from ways to reverse age-related changes in the varied microbial populations making up the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome changes with age, in ways that provoke chronic inflammation while also diminishing the supply of metabolites necessary for tissue function. Given the evidence generated from human and animal studies over the past decade, it is reasonable to think that the gut microbiome has as much influence on the course of long-term health as lifestyle choices relating to diet and exercise.
Aging is a complex natural physiological progression, which involves the irreversible deterioration of body cells, tissues, and organs with age, leading to enhanced risk of disease and ultimately death. The intestinal microbiota has a significant role in sustaining host dynamic balance, and the study of bidirectional communication networks such as the brain-gut axis provides important directions for human disease research. Moreover, the intestinal microbiota is intimately linked to aging.
Both the intestinal microbiota and aging are sophisticated subjects. The human intestinal microbiota undergoes significant changes during aging, and it is closely related to aging. However, the causal debate between intestinal microbiota and aging continues, and the analysis results indicate that they co-evolve and are mutually causal. The study of aging through the gut microbiota is a promising direction, whether it is to target the intestinal microbiota for intervention or to explore the underlying mechanisms of aging.
Interventions to delay aging primarily aim at aging drivers. Several animal studies have confirmed that aging can be delayed by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), probiotics, diet, and other regulation of the gut microbiota. However, the specific microbial characteristics related to delayed aging and maintenance of youth still need to be combined with several related experimental results for professional summary analysis.