What do cells and hormones have to with aging medicine?

As we age, our cellular biochemistry and physiology function in the same way, but not as efficiently. Researchers have begun deciphering the longitudinal role of anti-aging treatments as a way of extending or enhancing the longevity and quality of life of the human biological organism and coordinate physical machine. 

It's no secret that the most critical component of anti-aging medicine is a patient's lifestyle. For patients to be healthy, the focus must be on five points where we can intervene.

1. Exercise is essential for memory and sleep, and maintaining strength. It doesn't have to be more than 20 minutes per day, but it is critical.

1. Good sleep hygiene is essential. Most people need 6.5-8.5 hours of sleep to function at maximum capacity.

2. Diet. Almost no one's diet is perfect, but it needs to be reasonably sound to maintain good health. Some simple rules and a few necessary supplements are all that is required to balance nutrition.

3. The biology of the organism must be nutritionally sound.

4. The endocrine system must be functioning normally. The endocrine system is the underlying regulatory system of the body. If it is dysfunctional, the organism will not work with optimal physiology, potentially leading to accelerated aging and demise.

The endocrine system determines how the biological organism exists as an individual. All of the signalings for the integral functions of the body are housed in the brain's hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is involved in eating and drinking, energy maintenance, thermoregulation, stress response, memorizing, and even adjusting emotional behavior. The hypothalamus takes information from the rest of the brain and determines how the biological organism should respond. It modulates the endocrine system through its connection to the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus acts directly on the pituitary gland through stalk-like connections in the brain.

The pituitary gland controls the production of the hormones that govern the body, often called the master gland. The pituitary is approximately the size of a green pea that sits in a bony hollow just behind the nose. Although cell turnover is ordinarily low, pituitary stem cells exist and can regenerate pituitary endocrine cell types in response to physiological stress.

All tissues and organs respond to physiological changes biologically by changing tissue size, composition or function. These changes may originate from tissue-specific stem cells or other tissue cells in the environment called the 'niche.' Hormones control every stage of stem cell life, including establishment, expansion, maintenance, and differentiation. A single hormone can affect different stem cells differently or involve the same stem cell differently at various developmental times. Concerning the musculoskeletal system, hormones play an integrative role in maintaining the body's homeostasis.