The free‐radical damage theory: Accumulating evidence against a simple link of oxidative stress to ageing and lifespan
@article{Speakman2011TheFD, title={The free‐radical damage theory: Accumulating evidence against a simple link of oxidative stress to ageing and lifespan}, author={John R. Speakman and Colin Selman}, journal={BioEssays}, year={2011}, volume={33} }
Recent work on a small European cave salamander (Proteus anguinus) has revealed that it has exceptional longevity, yet it appears to have unexceptional defences against oxidative damage. This paper comes at the end of a string of other studies that are calling into question the free‐radical damage theory of ageing. This theory rose to prominence in the 1990s as the dominant theory for why we age and die. Despite substantial correlative evidence to support it, studies in the last five years have…
224 Citations
Antioxidant Vitamins and Ageing.
- BiologySub-cellular biochemistry
- 2018
The inability of antioxidant supplementation to improve health and longevity is discussed and the antioxidants' beneficial role may be reversed/prevented by excessive amounts of antioxidant supplements.
The free radical theory of aging is dead. Long live the damage theory!
- BiologyAntioxidants & redox signaling
- 2014
It is discussed that infidelity, heterogeneity, and imperfectness of each and every biological process may be responsible for the inevitable accumulation of by-products and other damage forms and biological imperfectness may help define the true root of aging.
OXIDATIVE STRESS AND THE EVOLUTION OF SEX DIFFERENCES IN LIFE SPAN AND AGEING IN THE DECORATED CRICKET, GRYLLODES SIGILLATUS
- BiologyEvolution; international journal of organic evolution
- 2013
In females, it is found that elevated fecundity early in life is associated with greater protein oxidation later in life, which is in turn positively correlated with the rate of ageing, which provides mixed support for the FRTA.
The free‐radical theory of ageing – older, wiser and still alive
- MedicineBioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology
- 2012
There is a need to look more closely at the mechanisms by which free radicals contribute to age‐related dysfunction in living systems and the expectation that free‐radical damage on its own might cause ageing needs to be relinquished.
The Greenland shark: A new challenge for the oxidative stress theory of ageing?
- Environmental Science, BiologyComparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology
- 2017
Deleterious consequences of antioxidant supplementation on lifespan in a wild-derived mammal
- BiologyBiology Letters
- 2013
Surprisingly, antioxidant supplementation significantly shortened lifespan in voles maintained under both cold and warm conditions, further question the predictions of free-radical theory of ageing and indicate that similar levels of antioxidants can induce widely different interspecific effects on lifespan.
Inflammatory challenge increases measures of oxidative stress in a free-ranging, long-lived mammal
- BiologyJournal of Experimental Biology
- 2013
It is concluded that in a long-lived mammal, even high concentrations of antioxidants do not immediately neutralise free radicals produced during a cellular immune response, suggesting that fighting an infection may lead to oxidative stress in bats.
Oxidative stress as a cost of reproduction: Beyond the simplistic trade‐off model
- BiologyBioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology
- 2014
The background to the oxidative stress hypothesis is explored, some of the complexities in testing it are highlighted, and it is concluded that the approach recently suggested to be least useful in this context (comparing reproducing to non‐reproducing animals) may in fact be the most powerful.
Oxidative stress and life histories: unresolved issues and current needs
- BiologyEcology and evolution
- 2015
Developments in this field of life histories are outlined and a number of important unresolved issues that may guide future research efforts are summarized.
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 73 REFERENCES
The oxidative stress theory of aging: embattled or invincible? Insights from non-traditional model organisms
- BiologyAGE
- 2008
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), inevitable byproducts of aerobic metabolism, are known to cause oxidative damage to cells and molecules. This, in turn, is widely accepted as a pivotal determinant of…
Against the oxidative damage theory of aging: superoxide dismutases protect against oxidative stress but have little or no effect on life span in Caenorhabditis elegans.
- BiologyGenes & development
- 2008
Findings imply that O(2)(-) is not a major determinant of aging in Caenorhabditis elegans, suggesting a signaling role for sod-4.
Minireview: the role of oxidative stress in relation to caloric restriction and longevity.
- ChemistryEndocrinology
- 2005
Recent reports of caloric restriction and longevity are reviewed, focusing on mitochondrial oxidative stress and the proposed mechanisms leading to an extended longevity in calorie-restricted animals.
Oxidative stress as a mediator of life history trade-offs: mechanisms, measurements and interpretation.
- BiologyEcology letters
- 2009
The potential role of oxidative stress in mediating life-history trade-offs is critically reviewed, a framework for formulating appropriate hypotheses and guiding experimental design is presented, and potentially fruitful areas for further research are indicated.
High oxidative damage levels in the longest‐living rodent, the naked mole‐rat
- BiologyAging cell
- 2006
The findings strongly suggest that mechanisms other than attenuated oxidative stress explain the impressive longevity of the naked mole‐rat and that NMRs live an order of magnitude longer than predicted based on their body size.
The Effect of Long‐term Dietary Supplementation with Antioxidants a
- MedicineAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- 1998
It is reported that long‐term supplementation with vitamin E enhances immune function in aged animals and elderly subjects and that the beneficial effect of vitamin E in the reduction of risk of atherosclerosis is, in part, associated with molecular modulation of the interaction of immune and endothelial cells.
Oxidative stress and mitochondrial function with aging – the effects of calorie restriction
- BiologyAging cell
- 2004
It has been proposed that CR feeding slows the rate of accrual of oxidative damage because mitochondria in these animals have a lower rate of superoxide generation when compared with mitochondria from control animals.
How increased oxidative stress promotes longevity and metabolic health: The concept of mitochondrial hormesis (mitohormesis)
- BiologyExperimental Gerontology
- 2010