Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research and Geriatric Mouse Clinic, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy.
Unit of Neurology, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy.
Ageing Res Rev. 2024 Nov;101:102521. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2024.102521. Epub 2024 Sep 27.
The most cutting-edge issue in the research on aging is the quest for biomarkers that transcend molecular and cellular domains to encompass organismal-level implications. We recently hypothesized the role of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) imbalance in this context. Studies on ANS functions during aging highlighted an imbalance towards heightened sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, instigating a proinflammatory milieu, and attenuated parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) function, which exerts anti-inflammatory effects via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) and suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This scenario strongly suggests that ANS imbalance can fuel inflammaging, now recognized as one of the most relevant risk factors for age-related disease development. Recent recommendations have increasingly highlighted the need for actionable strategies to improve the quality of life for older adults by identifying biomarkers that can be easily measured, even in asymptomatic individuals. We advocate for considering ANS imbalance as a biomarker of aging and inflammaging. Measures of ANS imbalance, such as heart rate variability (HRV), are relatively affordable, non-invasive, and cost-effective, making this hallmark easily diagnosable. HRV gains renewed significance within the aging research landscape, offering a tangible link between pathophysiological perturbations and age-related health outcomes.
衰老研究中最前沿的问题是寻求超越分子和细胞领域的生物标志物，以涵盖机体水平的影响。我们最近假设自主神经系统（ANS）失衡在这方面起着重要作用。关于衰老过程中 ANS 功能的研究强调了向交感神经系统（SNS）活性增强的不平衡，引发促炎环境，并减弱副交感神经系统（PNS）功能，通过胆碱能抗炎途径（CAP）和抑制下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴发挥抗炎作用。这种情况强烈表明，ANS 失衡可能会引发炎症衰老，现在被认为是与年龄相关疾病发展相关的最重要风险因素之一。最近的建议越来越强调需要采取可行的策略，通过识别即使在无症状个体中也可以轻松测量的生物标志物，来提高老年人的生活质量。我们主张将 ANS 失衡视为衰老和炎症衰老的生物标志物。ANS 失衡的测量方法，如心率变异性（HRV），相对负担得起、非侵入性且具有成本效益，因此这种生物标志物很容易诊断。HRV 在衰老研究领域中重新获得了重要意义，它在病理生理学扰动和与年龄相关的健康结果之间提供了一个切实的联系。
