Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T23:08:00.898Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Free Radical Theory of Aging: A Critique and Unresolved Questions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

John C. Carlson  and
William F. Forbes
John C. Carlson
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
William F. Forbes
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The free radical theory of aging is critically discussed. This review deals with the biological effects of free radicals during the aging process, the relationship between aging and diseases and how they both may be affected by free radicals, and the effects of free radicals on the human lifespan. The paper emphasizes aspects which require additional investigation.

Résumé

La théorie des radicaux libres du vieillissement est très critiquée. Ce compte-rendu traite des effets biologiques des radicaux libres au cours du processus du vieillissement, de la relation entre le vieillissement et la maladie (comment ces deux concepts peuvent être affectés par les radicaux libres) et des effets des radicaux libres tout au long du cycle de vie. Cet article met en relief des aspects qui demandent une étude plus approfondie.

Keywords

Radicaux libresvieillissementFree RadicalsAging
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , Fall/automne 1992 , pp. 262 - 268
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cerami, A., Vlassara, H., & Brownlee, M. (1987). Glucose and Aging. Scientific American, 256(5), 90–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chevion, M. (1988). A Site-Specific Mechanism for Free Radical Induced Biological Damage: The Essential Role of Redox-active Transition Metals. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 5, 27–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cutler, R.G. (1984). Antioxidants, Aging, and Longevity. In Pryor, W.A. (Ed.), Free Radicals in Biology, VI (pp. 371–428). New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, P.H., Klinowski, J., & Yano, E. (1991). Cephaloconiosis: A Free Radical Perspective on the Proposed Particulate-Induced Etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's Dementia and Related Disorders. Medical Hypothesis, 34, 209–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forbes, W.F., & Thompson, M.E. (1990). Age-Related Diseases and Normal Aging: The Nature of the Relationship. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 43(2), 191–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fridovich, I. (1978). The biology of oxygen radicals. Science, 201, 875–880.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fridovich, I. (1986). Biological effects of the superoxide radical. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 247, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halliwell, B. (1989). Oxidants and the central nervous system: Some fundamental questions. Acta Neurol. Scand., 126, 23–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halliwell, B., & Gutteridge, J.M.C. (1986). Oxygen free radicals and iron in relation to biology and medicine: Some problems and concepts. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 246, 501–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harman, D. (1981). The aging process. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 78, 7124–7128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harman, D. (1991). The aging process: Major risk factor for disease and death. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 88(12), 5360–5364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayflick, L. (1985). Theories of biological aging. Experimental Gerontology, 20, 145–159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holliday, R. (1988). Toward a biological understanding of the ageing process. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 32(1), 109–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeandel, C., Nicolas, M.B., Dubois, F., Nabet-Belleville, F., Penin, F., & Cuny, G. (1989). Lipid Peroxidation and Free Radical Scavengers in Alzheimer's Disease. Gerontology, 35, 275–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kroll, J. (1988). Extension of life span of rats by long-term (-)deprenyl treatment. Mt. Sinai Journal of Medicine, 55(1), 67–74.Google Scholar
Leibovitz, B.E., & Siegel, B.V. (1980). Aspects of free radical reactions in biological systems: Aging. Journal of Gerontology, 35, 45–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olshansky, S.J., Carnes, B.A., & Cassel, C. (1990). In search of Methuselah: Estimating the upper limits to human longevity. Science, 250, 634–640.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pryor, W.A. (1987). The free-radical theory of aging revisited: A critique and a suggested disease-specific theory. In Warner, H.R., Butler, R.N., Sprott, R.L., & Schneider, E.L. (Eds.), Modern Biological Theories of Aging (pp. 89–112). New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Saul, R.L., Gee, P., & Ames, B.H. (1987). Free radicals, DNA damage, and aging. In Warner, H.R., Butler, R.N., Sprott, R.L., & Schneider, E.L. (Eds.), Modern Biological Theories of Aging (pp. 113–129). New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Sawada, M., & Carlson, J.C. (1987). Association between lipid peroxidation and life modifying factors in rotifers. Journal of Gerontology, 42, 451–456.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schneider, E.L. (1987). Theories of aging: A perspective. In Warner, H.R., Butler, R.N., Sprott, R.L. & Schneider, E.L. (Eds.), Modern Biological Theories of Aging (pp. 1–4). New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Sohal, R.S., & Allen, R.G. (1990). Oxidative stress as a causal factor in differentiation and aging: A unifying hypothesis. Experimental Gerontology, 25, 499–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sugawara, O., Oshimura, M., Koi, M., Annab, L.A., & Barrett, J.C. (1990). Induction of cellular senescence in immortalized cells by human chromosome 1. Science, 247, 707–710.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, M.E., & Forbes, W.F. (1990). The Various Definitions of Biological Aging. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 9(2), 91–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar