Medical Incredible Flying Nonagenarian: The Power of Exercise in Old Age

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The discussion highlights the role of mitochondria in aging, suggesting that defective mitochondria contribute significantly to the decline in endurance, strength, and overall function as we age. Researchers propose that aging may be viewed as a mitochondrial disease, with exercise emerging as a powerful intervention. Evidence indicates that exercise can slow the progression of symptoms in young patients with mitochondrial disease, hinting at its potential as an "elixir of youth" for the aging population. The conversation notes that while age-related decline typically begins in the 40s and accelerates after 75, regular exercise can add six to seven years to life expectancy and enhance quality of life. The case of a nonagenarian with remarkably healthy muscle fibers, devoid of mitochondrial decay, serves as an inspiring example of the benefits of maintaining an active lifestyle.
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The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/magazine/28athletes-t.html

. . . . (Because muscle cells require so much energy, they’re hit hard when mitochondria go down.) Some researchers now see aging itself as a kind of mitochondrial disease. Defective mitochondria appear as we get older, and these researchers say that they rob us of endurance, strength and function. There’s evidence that for young patients with mitochondrial disease, exercise is a potent tool, slowing the symptoms. If that’s true, then exercise could also potentially be a kind of elixir of youth, combating the ravages of aging far more than we thought.
. . . .
You don’t have to be an athlete to notice how ruthlessly age hunts and how programmed the toll seems to be. We start losing wind in our 40s and muscle tone in our 50s. Things go downhill slowly until around age 75, when something alarming tends to happen.
. . . .
EXERCISE HAS BEEN shown to add between six and seven years to a life span (and improve the quality of life in countless ways). Any doctor who didn’t recommend exercise would be immediately suspect. But for most seniors, that prescription is likely to be something like a daily walk or Aquafit. . . . .
Exercise (and diet) is important to good health, especially later in life.
 
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Astronuc said:
The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/magazine/28athletes-t.html

Exercise (and diet) is important to good health, especially later in life.

Just ran across this. Wow. I tell everyone that I am going to live to 150 :wink: and people like this give me encouragement.
 
Last edited:
HOLY ****! :bugeye:
 
she won't live forever, but at least she has a chance of dying healthy.
 
In a muscle sample of a person over the age of 65, you would expect to see at least a couple of fibers with some mitochondrial defects. But in around 400 muscle fibers examined, Taivassalo said, “we didn’t see a single fiber that had any evidence” of mitochondrial decay. “It’s remarkable,” she added.
 

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