Epigenetics and aging

Impact of epigenetics in aging and age related neurodegenerative diseases.

Epigenetics involves multiple processes such as DNA methylation, histone code modifications, and noncoding RNAs to regulate gene expression. In recent years the implications of epigenetic mechanisms have emerged in the field of neuroscience especially in brain development, memory, learning, and various cognition processes. Epigenetics also plays a pivotal role during the aging process of the br...

Role of Epigenetics in Biology and Human Diseases

For a long time, scientists have tried to describe disorders just by genetic or environmental factors. However, the role of epigenetics in human diseases has been considered from a half of century ago. In the last decade, this subject has attracted many interests, especially in complicated disorders such as behavior plasticity, memory, cancer, autoimmune disease, and addiction as well as neurod...

Neuronal epigenetics and the aging synapse

Two of the most salient phenotypes of aging are cognitive decline and loss of motor function, both of which are controlled by the nervous system. Cognition and muscle contraction require that neuronal synapses develop and maintain proper structure and function. We review the literature on how normal physiological aging disrupts central and peripheral synapse function including the degradation o...

Epigenetics: Linking Nutrition to Molecular Mechanisms in Aging

Healthy aging has become a major goal of public health. Many studies have provided evidence and theories to explain molecular mechanisms of the aging process. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic mechanisms are responsible for life span and the progression of aging. Epigenetics is a fascinating field of molecular biology, which studies heritable modifications of DNA and histones that regulate...

The Prospects of Epigenetics in Neuroscience

Epigenetics of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: Implications for Pharmacogenomics and Drug Response

Epigenetic variability (DNA methylation/demethylation, histone modifications, microRNA regulation) is common in physiological and pathological conditions. Epigenetic alterations are present in different tissues along the aging process and in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Epigenetics affect life span and longevity. AD-related genes exhibit epigenetic changes, ind...