Aspects of longevity. Chapter iii. main aspects of the longevity program. Aging is a natural stage in the individual development of the body.

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Moscow Institute of Public and Corporate Management Test work in the discipline: Valeology on the topic:

Medical and social aspects of longevity Dubna 2009

1. At what age can a person be called a centenarian?

2. The most famous centenarians

3.What influences life extension

4.Medical aspects of longevity

5.Brain activity

6.Social aspects of longevity

Conclusion

References Introduction How long can a person live? Seventy, eighty years? According to the calculations of biologists, the lifespan of any organism can range from 7 to 14 periods of maturity. A person reaches maturity at 20-25 years old, therefore, his life could last up to 280 years.

Some gerontologists believe that a person can live longer. For example, Dr. Christopherson from London expressed the following idea: “A person can live 300, 400 or even 1000 years if his body is provided with all the substances necessary for life.”

To live a long life and stay vigorous and healthy is the dream of every person. Our ancestors have been searching for the elixir of youth and longevity for hundreds of years. The recipe was never found, but the average human life expectancy did increase. If in the Stone Age homo sapiens lived on average 20 years, and during the Roman Empire life expectancy was calculated at 35 years, now it reaches 70-75 years.

In terms of lifestyle and habitat, centenarians are a “close to ideal” model of a person, to which all people should strive. This is especially important for modern society, where family, traditional forms of education have weakened, and each person, as if anew, practically forgetting the experience of humanity in accumulating health, rushes into the maelstrom of life, mainly consisting of violent passions, selfishness, selfishness, etc.

Many people mistakenly believe that a person will not be able to live long without getting sick or aging unless he returns back “closer to nature.” But what should this step back be? Swinging from trees? Or live in a cave and wear skins? Or maybe a step back is just a log cabin with no electricity or running water?

But the fact is that the conditions in which we grew up and live are natural for us, and we enjoy the benefits of civilization. However, this does not mean that we should put up with its shortcomings, and if we wish, we can do something to correct them.

Federal Agency for Education

Moscow Institute of State and Corporate Management

Test in the discipline: Valeology on the topic:

Medical and social aspects of longevity

Dubna 2009

Introduction

1. At what age can a person be called a centenarian?

2. The most famous centenarians

3.What influences life extension

4.Medical aspects of longevity

5.Brain activity

6.Social aspects of longevity

Conclusion

References

Introduction

How long can a person live? Seventy, eighty years? According to the calculations of biologists, the lifespan of any organism can range from 7 to 14 periods of maturity. A person reaches maturity at 20-25 years old, therefore, his life could last up to 280 years.

Longevity, when a person reaches the age of 80 years or older, is one of the important indicators of the age characteristics of the population. It is closely related to the state of people’s health and depends on a number of socio-economic factors, primarily on the conditions and nature of work, the level of material security and associated nutrition and housing conditions, cultural level and lifestyle in a broad sense, as well as the degree of medical care .

1. At what age can a person be called a centenarian?

Since my work is devoted to life expectancy, I need to decide who exactly is classified as old people, who is centenarians, and who is middle-aged.

Age group classification:

· young people - up to 44 years old;

· middle-aged people - up to 59 years old;

· aging citizens - up to 74 years old;

· “young” centenarians - up to 89 years old;

· “old” centenarians - over 90 years old.

Dr. Martin Gumpert, a famous American gerontologist, is confident that it is quite possible to delay the onset of old age. Many scientists also believe that old age is a disease and it is curable. It is not at all necessary that a person at 70 years old should either die or suffer from decrepitude.

2. The most famous centenarians

· The monk Methuselah lived 969 years.

· Adam lived 930 years.

· Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu lived 200 years.

· A man named Kitahi from Iran lived 185 years.

· Jenkins lived for 169 years in the County of York in England. His last activity was fishing. At the age of 100, he was so strong that he could swim against the strongest currents.

· Caucasian Shirali Muslimov lived 168 years. Born in 1805, he left behind five generations, a 120-year-old widow, with whom he lived for 102 years, cultivated an orchard until his death, died in 1973.

· The merry fellow Pereira from Colombia lived 167 years. When government officials came to congratulate him on his birthday and asked the hero of the day’s consent to issue a commemorative stamp with his image, the hero of the day agreed, but set one condition: at the bottom, in the corner of the stamp, it should be written: “I drink and I smoke.”

· Englishman Thomas Par from the county of Shron lived 152 years and 9 months. He was poor and lived solely by his labor. In the 120th year he married a second time. Until he was 130 years old, he did everything around the house, even threshed the bread himself. He retained his hearing and sanity. When the king found out about him, he invited him to the court in London. But the trip and the luxurious dinner shortened Thomas' life. He died in 1625, having outlived nine kings. At autopsy, all his internal organs turned out to be healthy, and the cartilage was not ossified, which usually happens in old people. Great-granddaughter of Thomas Para died at the age of 103.

· Mahmud Bagir oglu Eyvazov(1808-1960) - 152-year-old centenarian, one of the oldest inhabitants of Azerbaijan, the former USSR and the world.

· Nasir Al-Najri- a long-liver, lives in the city of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. In 2008, he turned 135 years old.

· Sarhat Ibragimovna Rashidova is a long-living Azerbaijani. Lived in Dagestan. She was born in 1875 under Alexander II and lived for three centuries. When the revolution happened, she was 42 years old. The long-liver was discovered while replacing passports after the collapse of the USSR. The officials who changed her passport did not believe it at first, but after investigating, they discovered that her date of birth was genuine. She died in 2007 at the age of 132.

· Elizabeth Israel lived 127 years. She was born on January 27, 1875 in the Dominican Republic (Haiti) into a slave family. In 2001, she received a visit from the President and Prime Minister of the Republic. She lived in a shack where there was no running water, sewerage, or kitchen. When asked about the secret to longevity, Elizabeth replied: “I went to church very often and ate only natural products.” She died in January 2002.

· Lives 122 years Anna Martine da Silva. Born in 1880 in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Blind and deaf from birth, she lives in a suburb of the state capital of Cuiaba with her seventy-year-old daughter. He has 70 grandchildren, 60 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

· Mohammed-Khoja Duridi is a long-liver, the oldest inhabitant of the planet. Born in 1887. Lives in Bet Lida (West Bank).

· Lives for 120 years Nino Sturua- with eight children, 24 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren in Samtredia in western Georgia. Born in 1882. She sees perfectly without glasses and hears well.

· 116 years old Komato Khonso, who was born on September 16, 1887 on the Japanese island of Kyushu, has seven children, two dozen grandchildren and a great passion for Japanese vodka (sake), pork, green tea and black salt.

· Mary Bremont lived to be 115 years old. She was born in France on April 25, 1886, died on June 6, 2001. Mary worked in a factory, then in a sewing workshop and as a nanny for many families. She was married twice, loved Bordeaux wine and chocolate.

· Eva Morius lived 115 years, born on November 8, 1885 in Newcastle-under-Lyme in England. She died on November 2, 2000 in Staffordshire. Eva Morius never parted with a cigarette, loved to ride a bicycle, and never got sick. She believed that she lived long because she drank a glass of whiskey every day and ate a boiled onion.

During the time of Vespasian, in the year 76 of our calendar, Pliny presents a census of the population of the Roman Empire, according to which it turned out that there were long-livers: three people 140 years old, one person 139 years old, four people 137 years old, four people 130 years old, two people 125 years old , fifty-seven people 110 years old and fifty-four people 100 years old. From the above data it is clear that in Italy two thousand years ago there were more centenarians than now - and this despite the modern level of medical care, achievements of science and technology, which made it possible to create comfortable and safe living conditions for people. What is the reason why over the past twenty centuries life expectancy has not increased, but, on the contrary, even decreased?

3.What influences life extension

You can first try to answer this question yourself, without resorting to special literature, etc. Maybe climate, physique, temperament, occupation, intelligence, lifestyle?

Yes, a little of everything, everything in moderation and everything within reasonable limits. The right combination of all of the above social and medical factors makes our lives longer and our health remains strong even in old age.

The study of the features and characteristics of centenarians gives grounds to assert that such parameters as play an important role in prolonging life:

work that brings satisfaction; having a life goal; motor activity; maintaining a daily routine and rest hygiene; rational nutrition; normal sleep; household hygiene; the ability to manage emotions and maintain optimism; happy marriage; giving up bad habits; hardening; self-regulation.

4.Medical aspects of longevity

Modern man wants to live long and enjoy all the benefits of civilization. How to do this? How to eat and what lifestyle to lead to live longer? People have been trying to find answers to these most pressing questions for many, many centuries.

The air we breathe, or the long-livers of Abkhazia.

Abkhazia is a unique natural zone of intensive healing. One of the reasons for the intensive recovery is the composition of the Abkhaz air near the coast and the body’s reaction to the absorbed components of the air. Another treasure of Abkhazia is air. It is rich in negatively charged ions, sea salts, oxygen (41%), (for comparison, the oxygen content in Moscow is only 8%!). The air in residential premises is greatly oversaturated with positive ions, but there is a catastrophic lack of healing negative ions. So, if in the mountains of Abkhazia the number of negative ions is about 20,000 per 1 cubic meter. cm of air, in our forests there are 3000, but indoors there are only 10-20. But air devoid of ions is like food without minerals and therefore leads to dystrophic changes in many internal organs - the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, blood vessels. This active influence of the external environment largely explains the phenomenon of longevity in Abkhazia. If in the Soviet Union as a whole there are 100 people per million inhabitants who live long enough (over 100 years), then in Abkhazia with a population of 215,000 people (2003 census) there are about 250 of them. In general, 42% of all inhabitants of the planet who have reached the age of 10 live in the Caucasus. a hundred years or more.

V.L. Voeikov Bio-physico-chemical aspects of aging and longevity
“Advances of Gerontology”, 2002, issue 9. Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow

Currently, two types of theories of aging are widely accepted: genetic and free radical, within which certain features of the aging process and associated pathologies are found to be satisfactorily explained. However, there are phenomena that are difficult to explain within the framework of these theories: in particular, an increase in maximum life expectancy with moderate fasting, the beneficial effect of reactive oxygen species on vital functions, etc.

At the same time, based on the principles of theoretical biology formulated back in the 30s by E.S. Bauer, it becomes possible, from a unified position, to consistently explain the essence of not only these phenomena, but also a number of others, which at first glance seem to have little connection with each other.

The review examines the basic principles of Bauer's theory, in particular, it analyzes in detail the “Basic Process” he discovered - a specifically biological phenomenon that provides a significant extension of the duration of individual life. Taking into account Bauer's principles, the latest ideas about the peculiarities of processes involving free radical particles and the generation of electronically excited states are considered and the need to use these ideas to solve the problems facing gerontology is substantiated.

The mystery of aging

It would seem that there is nothing mysterious in the phenomenon of aging, which is associated with loss of strength, physical and mental degradation, and numerous diseases: all things sooner or later wear out and are destroyed. But biology provides many amazing examples of the fact that some living beings are practically not subject to aging and if they die, it is not for internal reasons, that is, due to the depletion of the organism’s vital capabilities. Trees are known to continue bearing fruit at an age exceeding several thousand years.

In turtles, some species of fish and birds, 150 years of age is not the limit, and animals even at this age often do not show biological signs of aging. There are no such long-livers among mammals. If they do not die from external causes before old age, then they die from diseases associated with decrepitude. But man, oddly enough, can be compared with the longest-living fish, reptiles and birds both in life expectancy and in the ability to maintain high vital activity at a very old age.

Indeed, average life expectancy (ALE) has approached 80 years in developed countries. “Maximum life span” (MLS) is the maximum age to which representatives of a given species were observed to survive. If you trust only strictly documented data, the life expectancy of a person is 120 years. Old age is usually associated with the inevitable degradation of a person's physical and mental health. But a number of studies have shown that among the “very old” there are many who maintain good health, high performance and creative activity.

Approximately half of the centenarians (persons over 90 years old) in Ukraine and Abkhazia are practically healthy people according to medical indicators. . Even in St. Petersburg, a city with an unfavorable environmental situation, the number of residents over 90 years of age increased in the decade from 1979 to 1989, exceeding 6,000 people by 1990. Almost 20% of them did not require medical care. These facts speak of the enormous reserves and capabilities of the human body. Where are these reserves located, and how can you learn to use them? Scientific research into the phenomena of aging and longevity is associated with the hope that their results will help a person get rid of frailty, and perhaps open up ways to increase the upper limit of human life expectancy.

Variety of theories of aging mechanisms

There are several dozen theories of aging, and this in itself indicates the absence of a generally accepted concept. Almost all of them come down to variations of two themes: aging is a genetically programmed process; aging is a stochastic, random process caused by the “wear and tear” of the body as a result of self-poisoning with waste products and/or damage caused by constantly acting harmful environmental factors. All of these theories explicitly or implicitly imply that aging of the organism begins immediately after the start of division of the fertilized egg.

All variants of “genetic” theories of aging stem from A. Weismann’s concept of the “division of labor” between somatic cells and reproductive cells – carriers of genetic material. According to Weisman, the variety of functions of somatic cells ultimately comes down to ensuring the possibility of preserving genetic material (“immortal hereditary plasma”) in the offspring.

When the function of reproduction is completed, individuals “not only lose value, but even become harmful to the species, taking away place from the best.” Therefore, according to Weisman, in the course of natural selection for “utility”, species with an optimal ratio between fertility and life expectancy of parents who fulfilled their function received an advantage. Weisman proposed that the maximum lifespan is determined genetically in the form of the number of generations of somatic cells of a multicellular organism.

It would seem that modern science has proven Weisman’s hypothesis about limiting the lifespan of an organism due to the “clock” embedded in the genome. Thus, fibroblasts (connective tissue cells), removed from the body and placed in a complete environment, are capable of only a limited number of divisions (Hayflick number), after which the culture dies. It has been reported that in cultures of fibroblasts obtained from young animals, the number of divisions is greater than in the culture of cells from old animals, although other authors do not confirm these data.

Recently, a molecular mechanism has become known that limits the number of fibroblast divisions in culture - a decrease in aging cultures of telomerase activity, one of the enzymes that ensures the preservation of DNA properties in successive generations of cells. The number of divisions of cultured fibroblasts into which the gene for this enzyme was inserted increased. Genes have been discovered in which mutations affect the MF in yeast, nematode worms, and Drosophila. These studies raised hopes for rejuvenation through “gene therapy.”

However, one should be careful about extrapolating the results obtained from the study of particular objects to the whole to which they belong. In cells removed from the body, some properties may not appear at all, while others may become aggravated. Thus, the number of fibroblast divisions in the presence of other cells may increase or decrease; fibroblasts can transform into other types of cells, the lifespan of which does not depend on the number of divisions.

Gerontologists, who view the problem of aging and longevity as complex, are skeptical about the prospect of solving it by replacing “bad” genes with “good” ones. According to their data, the contribution of hereditary factors to life expectancy does not exceed 25%. The life span is more dependent on heredity than the life span, but it also depends 60-70% on the contribution of non-hereditary factors.

The role of non-hereditary factors is emphasized in the group of theories of aging due to wear and tear of the body. In the course of life, toxic metabolic products accumulate in it, and it is constantly exposed to harmful external factors. The neutralizing mechanisms, which in young organisms still eliminate damage, gradually wear out, and decrepitude becomes more and more obvious.

So, according to “ Free radical theory of aging“, when the body is exposed to ionizing radiation or as a result of some “metabolic errors,” free radicals (atoms or molecules with an unpaired electron on the outer surface) appear in the cytoplasm, in particular, various “reactive oxygen species” - ROS (superoxide anion radical, decomposition products of hydrogen peroxide and reactions with its participation, nitrogen oxides, etc.). Processes associated with the action of ROS are called “oxidative stress”, since highly active free radicals can attack and damage any biomolecule. It is argued that with age, free radicals are neutralized less and less and more actively disrupt the functioning of the “molecular machines” of the cell.

Has become popular in recent years theory of aging due to glycation. A complex of glycation reactions known as the Maillard reaction (RM) begins with the formation of glucose compounds with the amino groups of amino acids, peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids. The reaction products can damage proteins or nucleic acids. Defective molecules are deposited on the walls of blood vessels, in tissues, in particular, in the bodies of nerve cells. Many complications of diabetes, in which blood glucose levels are elevated, are similar to those observed in older people, probably due to the more rapid formation of toxic PM products. It is believed that the content of specific PM products in human tissues correlates with his “biological age,” which can differ significantly among people of the same calendar age.

It has recently been discovered that many PM products generate reactive oxygen species. This has led a number of researchers to believe that the appearance of free radicals and glycation are elements of a single, more complex biochemical network and that many processes associated with aging, in particular, atherosclerosis, renal failure, and neurodegenerative diseases are in one way or another related to RM and the generation of free radicals. The main directions of research into aging processes and associated disorders from the perspective of the “synthetic” theory are related to the identification of the end products of glycation reactions/ROS generation, and the search for means that inhibit such reactions or reduce the consequences of their occurrence.

Both the “genetic” theory and the theory of aging due to glycation/ROS generation plausibly explain the occurrence of some pathologies during aging. True, the schools professing them to a certain extent conflict with each other, but it is these theories that today form the basis for the development of specific approaches to the correction of aging pathologies. Moreover, some representatives of the “genetic” school argue that in the future, due to gene therapy, it will be possible not only to eliminate the main diseases of old age, but also to increase the maximum life expectancy of a person. However, in biology there are many phenomena known that are very difficult to explain within the framework of existing theories of aging, which is indicated by the incompleteness of the data on which these theories are based, and that the interpretation of the available data is far from perfect.

Difficult questions in gerontology

Let's start with the fact that reactive oxygen species, so dangerous from the standpoint of the free radical theory of aging, are produced by the body purposefully. Thus, when immune blood cells, in particular neutrophils, are activated, their enzyme NADPH oxidase reduces more than 90% of oxygen to the superoxide anion radical. Superoxide dismutase converts it into hydrogen peroxide, and myeloperoxidase catalyzes the oxidation of chlorine ions by peroxide to form an extremely active oxidizing agent - hypochlorite.

Some consider the generation of ROS by immune cells to be a necessary evil caused by the need to combat an even greater evil - infectious microorganisms. Although it is still believed that only a small portion of the oxygen consumed by the body undergoes one-electron reduction, it is now becoming clear that all cells have specialized enzymatic systems for the targeted generation of ROS. In plants, almost complete suppression of mitochondrial respiration reduces their oxygen consumption by only 5-30%, and in animals, minimally damaged organs and tissues use up to 10-15% of the consumed oxygen for the production of ROS.

In the case of maximum activation of enzymes that produce superoxide radicals, the animal’s oxygen consumption increases by almost 20%. ROS are continuously produced in the body and during non-enzymatic processes. The glycation reaction discussed above occurs continuously in cells, the intercellular matrix, and blood plasma and, therefore, ROS and free radicals continuously arise during it. Finally, very recently it was found that all antibodies, regardless of their specificity and origin, are capable of activating oxygen and producing hydrogen peroxide. This means that ROS are involved in any immune response of the body, i.e. that protecting the body from damaging environmental factors, necessary for a long life, is impossible without the participation of free radicals.

In connection with the contradictions that have recently arisen in assessing the physiological or pathophysiological significance of ROS, the following paradox is especially interesting. As you know, oxygen is the most necessary environmental factor for humans: stopping the supply of oxygen to the body for just a few minutes ends in death due to irreversible brain damage. Indeed, it is well known that the human brain, which weighs no more than 2% of the body weight, consumes about 20% of the total oxygen consumed by the body. But the content of mitochondria in nerve cells is much less than, for example, in muscle or liver cells.

Consequently, in the brain and in nervous tissue in general, an alternative to oxidative phosphorylation pathway for oxygen utilization - its one-electron reduction - should dominate. Most recently, indications have emerged of the possibility of intense ROS generation in a normally functioning brain. The enzyme NADP-H oxidase, which was previously considered absent from them, has been discovered in nerve cells. In the brain, or more precisely, in neurons, the concentration of ascorbate is extremely high - 10 mM, which is 200 times higher than in blood plasma.

Unexpectedly, it turned out that the gray matter of the brain contains not traces at all, but very significant concentrations of transition metal ions Fe, Cu, Zn - 0.1-0.5 mM. If we consider that the combination of ascorbate and metals in such concentrations in vitro is often used as a system that provides intense generation of ROS, then the likelihood that ROS in the nervous tissue is constantly produced (but, apparently, very quickly eliminated) becomes very high. Such reactions are accompanied by the emission of photons (see below for more details), and if they occur with high intensity in the brain, then we should expect that brain activity should be accompanied by optical radiation.

Indeed, recently Japanese authors, using highly sensitive photon detectors, have shown that the rat cerebral cortex is the only organ that emits light photons in vivo without additional stimulation of the tissue and without adding any chemical agent to it. The rhythms of radiation are consistent with the rhythms of electroencephalograms, and its intensity decreases sharply when the blood supply to the brain is stopped, during hypoxia or hypoglycemia.

It follows that the intensity of processes involving free radicals in the brain far exceeds that characteristic of other organs and tissues. But the brain is the human organ that “ages”, as a rule, last (at least for the majority of centenarians). All this sharply contradicts the free radical theory of aging in the form in which it is currently promoted, and requires serious adjustments to it, especially considering that this theory underlies the widespread use of various antioxidants in preventive and clinical medicine. And although antioxidants are indeed extremely important for normal life (see below), there is already evidence that their abuse can lead to negative consequences.

Let us turn to another important observation for gerontology - prolonging the life of animals with calorie restriction(OKP). Thus, reducing the calorie content of food to 40-50% of that consumed when feeding “to satiation” increases not only the average, but also the maximum life expectancy of mice and rats by more than 1.5 times! . OCP leads to strengthened immunity, a decrease in the incidence of cancer, and in some cases – to the resorption of tumors that have already appeared. In macaques, OCP eliminates the development of diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis.

For a long time, the increase in life expectancy with OCP was explained simply: during fasting, the metabolic rate decreases, endogenous toxins accumulate more slowly, and life expectancy increases due to a decrease in the overall activity of the body. It turned out, however, that the motor, sexual and cognitive activity of moderately starved animals increases, and during their entire life they consume more oxygen and “burn” more calories than control animals.

An experiment on macaques that have been moderately fasting for more than 10 years showed that the damage caused by “oxidative stress” in their tissues is significantly less pronounced than in control animals of the same age. At the same time, the specific oxygen consumption of moderately starved animals does not decrease, but the efficiency of its use increases. These effects are not easily explained within the framework of “wear and tear” theories, and the increase in life span during calorie restriction is difficult to reconcile with the genetic theory of aging, at least in its canonical form.

More mysterious phenomena are also known in gerontology. It is generally believed that the higher the population density, the greater the competition between individuals for space and food resources. In accordance with the doctrine of natural selection, in such conditions the fittest and strongest will, of course, gain an advantage, but in general, with increasing population density, mortality should increase, which is often observed in conditions of overpopulation. It turned out, however, that everything is not so simple.

For example, if Leucania separata butterflies are kept in isolation after hatching, they live no more than 5 days. When kept in groups, their maximum lifespan reaches 28 days, i.e. it increases by more than 5 times! The lifespan of drosophila increases significantly if their larvae at a certain stage of development are at a density exceeding a certain critical value.

Existing theories of aging cannot explain such phenomena, since they are based on the chemical paradigm dominant in physiology and biochemistry. According to it, all processes in the body proceed, in essence, according to the same laws as in a chemical reactor. Such a “reactor” is, of course, very complicated. Reactions in it proceed according to a predetermined program, providing feedback, the supply of reagents and energy, and the removal of production by-products. Aging also means increasingly frequent failures in the program and other disturbances during the processes occurring in the “bioreactor”. The fight against aging thus comes down to “editing” the program, preventing and eliminating damage that occurs.

This approach is based on the laws of physics and chemistry that were established during the study of inert matter, the laws that govern statistical ensembles of particles in closed systems. It allows us to explain many particular patterns, but does not take into account the fundamental difference between any living system and the most complex machine - the ability of any organism to develop, regenerate and self-heal.

Aging is a natural stage in the individual development of the body.

Development refers to the spontaneous growth of heterogeneity, the deepening of differentiation of parts of the body and the processes occurring in it (“division of labor”). In the course of development, the functional capabilities of the body expand and the efficiency of their implementation increases, since the integration of processes deepens due to their increasingly fine coordination - coordination or subordination in the activities of different organ systems. Coordination is impossible without improving communication systems both between various executive organs of a living system, and between the organism and the environment. All these essential features of a living system allow it to respond expediently to stimuli. Expedient, according to the definition of the outstanding domestic biologist L.S. Berg, “everything that leads to the continuation of life should be considered inappropriate - everything that shortens it.”

The concept of the expediency of life activities, and, therefore, the purposefulness of life processes, is a powerful heuristic principle, which, alas, is not always taken into account when studying these processes. Perhaps this is why modern understanding of the development process is so poor - a phenomenon most characteristic of living systems, without understanding which it is impossible to understand the aging process and search for effective measures to combat it. According to the famous embryologist, “in the field of biology (individual development) we are still wandering in complete darkness among an unimaginable multitude of facts, particular patterns and detailed explanations constructed for them..., still looking at the development of a chicken in an egg as a true miracle.”

There are attempts to approach an explanation of the development phenomenon based on laws of nonequilibrium thermodynamics of open systems. Due to the flow of energy and matter through an open system, the level of its organization can increase - “order” can arise from “chaos”. Such processes are often called “self-organization,” although their root cause is the action of an external force on the system. But if “self-organization” in a nonliving open system is carried out due to the entry of matter and energy into it, then the living system itself extracts them from the environment.

It is important that the level of organization of the matter and energy that feeds a living system is lower than its own level of organization, and the system acts as an organizer of the energy and matter it consumes, building itself from them. To do this work, it is necessary to have efficient structures and the energy that fuels their work. A body with such properties is in a nonequilibrium state relative to its environment, i.e. its thermodynamic potentials are higher than those of environmental objects, and therefore work can be done on them.

E.S. Bauer generalized this property of living things as the “principle of stable disequilibrium”: “All and only living systems are never in equilibrium and, due to their free energy, constantly perform work against the equilibrium required by the laws of physics and chemistry under existing external conditions.” In thermodynamics, the term “free energy” is associated with the presence of any gradients in the system: electrical, chemical, mechanical (pressure), temperature. All of them are present in living systems and are used to perform work. But where is the primary source of their formation and maintenance, the primary source of the working capacity of a living system? According to Bauer, in a living cell, disequilibrium is generated by the special physical state of biological macromolecules - proteins and nucleic acids.

In a living cell they are in an excited, non-equilibrium state. If outside a cell any individual excited molecule inevitably goes into the “ground state” - a state with a minimum of energy, then in a living cell the stability of the nonequilibrium state of these molecules is ensured by the fact that they are already synthesized under the conditions of a nonequilibrium system and form peculiar ensembles with other similar molecules.

The specific structure of biomolecules also plays an important role, which allows them to retain excitation energy for some time even after being removed from the cell. When Bauer created his theory, there was almost no evidence of such ideas about the state of the molecular substrate of living systems, with the exception of phenomena associated with mitogenetic radiation discovered by A.G. Gurvich.

The assertions of Bauer and Gurvich that the nonequilibrium and dynamic stability of the molecular components of a living system are its integral properties, granted to it by “right of birth”, and not due to “pumping” with energy and matter from the outside, are beginning to find justification in the latest concepts of quantum electrodynamics. Evidence has also emerged that some enzyme proteins can absorb energy from the environment, accumulate it, and then use it to perform useful work in the form of one “big” quantum.

Bauer, referring to the special form of potential energy of stably excited ensembles of molecules, used the terms “free energy” and “structural energy” already used in modern physical and chemical literature. Therefore, further we will call it “biophysical energy”. What does all this reasoning have to do with the process of development, and especially aging?

So Bauer's law states that From the moment of its emergence, any living cell is not in equilibrium with respect to its environment, and due to this it is capable of performing useful work to maintain its own vital activity, and all the work that a living system performs is aimed only at this. But then the organism, it would seem, should have enormous energy resources already at the moment of generation. Where do they come from in a microscopic egg? The egg, of course, has an initial supply of biophysical energy, but, most importantly, it has the potential ability to extract energy from the environment.

This resource (let's call it “biophysical potential”) is genetically programmed. According to Bauer’s definition, it is proportional to the biophysical energy of the egg and inversely proportional to its “live mass”, i.e. mass of structures in an excited state. If a living system is isolated from external sources of matter and energy, it will gradually use up all its reserves of biophysical energy to carry out work to maintain the non-equilibrium state of the living mass, and ultimately the organism will die.

But normally, a living system, due to the difference in its biophysical potential and the corresponding potentials of the substrates, has the ability to consume (assimilate) matter-energy from the environment. However, there is a certain subtlety here. In order to extract matter-energy from the environment, a living system must perform a certain amount of work on the environment, and when such work is performed, the potential of the living system decreases, and the structural elements that perform the work lose their biophysical energy. How can assimilation take place if “external” work contradicts the principle of stable disequilibrium?

The way out of this contradiction is as follows. To carry out external work a living system must be affected by a stimulus- a stimulus from the external environment, prompting it to release part of the energy that can already be used to perform external work. It follows that for any interaction of a living system with the environment, even to extract the substrates it needs from the environment, it must perceive an external signal that is in some sense damaging to it. But without such “damage” the system cannot extract the resources it needs, release the chemical energy of food, replace the lost living mass with a new one, which alone can ensure an increase in the living mass of the system, the total reserve of its biophysical energy and efficiency.

In fact, the “destructive” effect of external signals is, as a rule, reduced to a minimum. To receive such signals, living systems have special devices - sensory organs, and only when their sensitivity decreases, is damaged, is switched off, in order for it to perform external work, it requires quite intense external stimuli that threaten real damage.

No matter how normally all the organs of a living system function, as its live weight increases, the biophysical potential of the system (the ratio of the volume of biophysical energy to live weight) decreases. Therefore, when the system reaches a certain limiting value of live weight, work aimed at its increase will be accompanied by a decrease in the total resource of biophysical energy of the system, i.e. decreasing the degree of its imbalance. According to the principle of stable disequilibrium, a living system cannot perform such work, and therefore, when the limit of living mass is reached, it goes into a state in which dissimilation only compensates for the energy costs of assimilation, and the biophysical energy of the living system inevitably decreases.

Thus, the life cycle of any organism consists of two stages with the opposite direction of the vector of change in biophysical energy. The first stage is the stage of development at which the volume of biophysical energy of a living system increases, the second is the stage at which its level decreases, i.e., essentially, the aging of the organism. The duration of the entire cycle depends on the hereditarily determined initial live weight and its biophysical potential, as well as on the effectiveness of its use for the growth of live weight. Efficiency depends not only on the properties of the system, but also on the quality of the matter and energy consumed by it. All these factors determine the upper limit of the biophysical energy that an organism can accumulate during development.

The rate of aging, i.e. the rate at which the reserve of biophysical energy acquired at the stage of development decreases is determined, on the one hand, by the rate of energy dissipation by any physical body whose thermodynamic potentials are higher than the potentials of the environment. The rate of losses along this path depends both on the potential difference and on the structure of the physical body. On the other hand, energy is also lost during any irritation of the system by environmental factors, although without these irritants the system, as already noted, cannot perform external work. Therefore, the higher the sensitivity of the system to adequate external signals, the less energy it loses when perceiving them. But living systems are also capable of actively resisting aging, since, in accordance with the principle of stable disequilibrium, they constantly perform work against the transition to equilibrium. But no matter how effectively this work is performed, the level of biophysical energy of the individual system inevitably decreases. The result is death?

Do the laws of theoretical biology allow us to eliminate old age?

Let us turn to the consideration of the life cycle of a simple organism, for example, the “slipper” paramecium. Weisman argued that multicellular organisms are mortal because their body loses its significance after performing the reproductive function. Unicellular organisms, on the contrary, are immortal, since the “body” of a unicellular organism is a reservoir of its immortal hereditary plasma, and its division is only a peculiar form of growth. These ideas were already challenged by Weissmann's contemporaries.

The famous German biologist R. Hertwig discovered that with prolonged reseeding of a paramecium culture, cells, even under the most favorable conditions, sooner or later suddenly stop dividing, feeding, and moving. Then the animals overcome this condition and resume feeding and division. Such “depression” and its overcoming are associated with amazing cell transformations. Their nuclei first increase in size and then break up into small fragments. Most of the nuclear material disappears, after which the animals awaken to a new life - cultural rejuvenation occurs. It turns out that in order to revive the whole (cell culture), individual cells must die. Hertwig called the phenomenon he discovered “partial cell death.”

The same phenomenon is observed in natural conditions. Under the influence of unfavorable environmental factors (hunger, drying out, lowering the temperature, etc.), some protozoa die, others turn into cysts. They collapse, are surrounded by a dense shell, and lose almost all of their nuclear material. And only these individuals, which, when living conditions deteriorated, “sacrificed” almost all the “property” accumulated during life, are capable of resuming active division when favorable conditions are restored. Whether such renewal of the organism is considered a “rejuvenation” of an old individual or a kind of birth of a new individual depends on the point of view, but it is precisely this that ensures the “immortality” of the species as a whole.

Let us consider the life cycle of a single cell from the perspective of the principle of stable disequilibrium. Immediately after the appearance of a “newborn” cell, it begins to feed and grow, increasing its living mass, which it will have to divide between two daughter cells. During growth, its volume of biophysical energy increases, and the starting biophysical energy decreases. But if the biophysical potential transferred to the daughter cells is lower than the original parental one, then the species will sooner or later disappear from the face of the Earth.

Since the species exists, it means that its representatives pass on to their descendants at least the same potential that they received from their parents. The mechanism for restoring the original potential of a cell culture is generally visible in the phenomenon of partial cell death in protozoa discussed above: during sporulation, cells lose their living mass, maintaining the volume of accumulated biophysical energy. Bauer realized that this process is the most important and specific property of the living - a way of dealing with death, and called it the “Basic Process” (OP).

According to Bauer's ideas, the mechanism of the Basic Process is launched in a living system, the potential of which has decreased as a result of its work on the accumulation of biophysical energy. At the same time, in the space of a living system, one part of its living mass transfers its reserve of biophysical energy to another. The first one passes from an excited state to a resting state, “dies,” and the level of excitation of the second one increases. Since the volume of “live mass” decreases, and the biophysical energy of the entire system does not change during AP, its biophysical potential increases.

A spontaneous increase in the energy density of a system in its limited region due to a decrease in energy density in other parts of the system is called “fluctuation” in physics. In inert systems, fluctuations are random, rare and unpredictable. For example, it is difficult to expect that water in one part of the vessel will take energy from another part and boil, while the other part will freeze, although such an event is theoretically possible.

In a living system, such paradoxical “fluctuations” of energy occur regularly and naturally. Energy donors are those parts of the system whose biophysical potential has already been significantly reduced due to their performance of external and internal work, and its acceptors are the most significant parts of the system for performing vital functions. In particular, in a single cell the main acceptor of biophysical energy is most likely DNA, and in an animal body it is nervous tissue.

To maintain life in a series of descendants, a unicellular animal must accumulate a supply of biophysical energy during its life cycle, allowing it to provide a pair of daughter cells with the initial potential. Before division, the OP is switched on in the parent cell, part of its living mass dies, and the energy is concentrated in the embryos of new daughter cells. The potential of the eggs of multicellular organisms must be much higher than that of unicellular organisms in order to ensure not only the formation of the multicellular organism itself, consisting of myriads of cells, but also a considerable number of descendants.

OP allows you to significantly extend the life of an individual even after reaching the “mass limit”, when his biophysical potential has dropped to a critical value, and metabolism no longer provides an increase in live weight. The life of individual lower animals (unicellular, ciliated worms, hydras) can be extended if part of its body is amputated before the onset of division or reproduction of an individual. Amputation is followed by regeneration, and reproduction of the individual is postponed, which is analogous to the extension of individual existence. Regular amputations prolong the life of an animal so much that some researchers began to argue about the possibility of immortality in primitive animals. And here regeneration is preceded by a restructuring of the nuclear apparatus and the death of a significant part of it, i.e., a significant renewal of the entire organism.

During the natural life cycle of multicellular organisms, events are regularly realized that, both in form and in result, completely fall under the definition of the “Basic Process” proposed by Bauer. Such events are called “apoptosis” or, as it is also figuratively called, “programmed cell death”. During apoptosis, the nuclear DNA of individual cells breaks down into fragments. Some of them, together with other cellular organelles, are absorbed by neighboring cells. Apoptosis occurs in cells that have exhausted their vital potential, or when changes appear that precede tumor degeneration. Interestingly, apoptosis occurs intensively already at the stage of embryonic development. Thus, up to 40-60% of formed nerve cells undergo apoptosis and are eliminated.

It is believed that during embryogenesis, apoptosis is necessary for the embryo to acquire its final form (remember the tadpole’s tail, which the frog no longer has), and in adulthood, the function of apoptosis is the elimination of damaged cells. The energetic function of apoptosis is not considered, although it is so similar to “partial cell death” in protozoa that in multicellular organisms it almost certainly performs the function of the “Main Process”, and, therefore, contributes to prolongation of life. Apparently, it is no coincidence that when caloric intake is limited, the intensity of apoptosis increases to 500% of the control.

Phenomena characteristic of the “basic process” are also observed at the level of the whole organism. More than half a century ago, physiologist I.P. Razenkov discovered that in addition to the consumption of exogenous food, the body performs the function of endogenous nutrition. Nutrients are released from the blood into the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), primarily proteins, which are digested there along with exogenous food, and the products of their breakdown are absorbed back into the blood. During the day, the same amount of protein is transferred into the gastrointestinal tract from the blood with digestive juices as is formed as a result of tissue wear and tear in the process of normal life.

During fasting, the amount of protein released into the digestive tract reaches several tens of grams, which is comparable to the lower limit of the norm for protein nutrition. Razenkov believed that this phenomenon not only ensures the constancy of the internal environment of the body (foreign food substances are diluted with endogenous ones), but also plays a bioenergetic role, acting as one of the manifestations of AP.

The role of endogenous nutrition in increasing the biophysical potential of the body is also indicated by another physiological phenomenon - weight gain after complete fasting when returning to the original diet. Perhaps the custom of regular fasting among peoples belonging to very different cultures is associated with their beneficial effects on health and prolongation of life, and not at all with saving food.

So, Bauer discovered a fundamentally important biological phenomenon - the Basic Process - which manifests itself at various levels of organization of living systems. Since this phenomenon has remained virtually unknown to the scientific community, it makes sense to once again describe its essence. The main process provides, in addition to other needs of the body, the possibility of significantly extending the life of an individual beyond the minimum required for procreation. OP is a critical transition of a living system to a new state, when part of the living mass is sacrificed to increase the potential of the remaining one.

A living system receives incentives for the development of OP from the outside, but it is carried out exclusively at the expense of internal reserves and is possible only if, during the previous development, the living system has accumulated a sufficient amount of biophysical energy due to the assimilation of matter-energy from the environment. An increase in the potential of a living system as a result of OP allows it to enter a new life cycle, when it can again accumulate biophysical energy. The implementation of OP in the future provides the individual with better opportunities in the fight against the transition to an equilibrium state than if he used energy to work to preserve his entire living mass. If an individual does not die under the influence of external forces incompatible with life, then, thanks to the regular inclusion of the “Basic Process”, he can exist indefinitely.

Bauer's theory and difficult questions of gerontology

The fundamental laws of biology formulated by Bauer, which we discussed extremely fragmentarily (for a more detailed presentation of them, see), make it possible to explain from a unified position most of the phenomena associated with the problem of aging, in particular those that cannot be explained within the framework of existing theories. Bauer's principle makes it possible to explain the increase in life expectancy when caloric intake is limited (starting from a certain stage of development of the individual). Let us recall that a living system must expend its own biophysical energy to assimilate matter-energy from the environment. When the system has accumulated a sufficient reserve, then it is probably more profitable for it to switch to the mode of regularly launching the “Main Process” rather than expending its biophysical energy on assimilating additional matter-energy from the environment.

Let's take the problem of the influence of population density on the life expectancy of individuals. If we consider a group of individuals as an integral living system, then the values of the parameters that determine the lifespan of such a system should differ from those that determine the lifespan of individual individuals. It is possible that with a known optimal group size, due to the interaction of its members, the efficiency of using the initial biophysical potential of each individual increases, as well as the efficiency of its resistance to losses of biophysical energy.

The specific mechanisms that ensure the interaction of members of a group, thanks to which it acquires integrity, are apparently diverse and are not yet completely clear, but can we say that we know the subtle mechanisms of interactions between individual cells in any tissue that determine its properties as an integral system? and not just sums of cells? In connection with this last question, it seems necessary to us to discuss in more detail another difficult problem of gerontology - the role of reactions involving reactive oxygen species in aging.

Possible role of processes involving reactive oxygen species in the aging process and in the phenomenon of longevity

In the previous presentation, we constantly used the terms “biophysical energy” and “biophysical potential”. Is it possible to specify them?

As already noted, according to Bauer’s ideas, the nonequilibrium of a living cell is generated by the excited state of biological macromolecules, more precisely, their ensembles, and the reality of the existence of such stably nonequilibrium ensembles was confirmed by the discovery of A.G. Gurvich of the so-called “degradation radiation”. The latter is a flash of ultraviolet photons observed when biological objects are exposed to a variety of stimuli.

According to the laws of physics, light photons are generated when an electron returns from an excited orbital to a ground orbital. But the electronically excited state of particles is energetically extremely unfavorable. Macromolecules can be maintained in this state for a long time only if they are continuously pumped with energy at a sufficiently high density. Of the chemical processes occurring in the body, the most suitable sources of such energy may be reactions involving reactive oxygen species, mainly the recombination reactions of free radicals.

Thus, during the recombination of two superoxide radicals, an energy quantum of about 1 eV is released (with the hydrolysis of one ATP molecule, less than 0.5 eV is released). When hydrogen peroxide decomposes, an energy quantum equal to 2 eV is released (corresponding to a green light quantum). And in total, with the sequential reduction of one oxygen molecule to two water molecules, 8 eV are released by four electrons.

It is characteristic that in the sections of biochemistry and biophysics, where reactions involving reactive oxygen species are considered, almost no mention is made of the enormous energy output of these reactions, and attention is drawn only to the participation of oxygen radicals in chain reactions with biomolecules, in which oxidative destruction of the latter occurs.

In our opinion, substantiated in more detail by references to our own and literary data in, ROS must be considered primarily as the main participants in continuous nonlinear processes during which electronically excited states are generated. These processes play a fundamentally important role in organizing the flow of energy and information in living systems, as evidenced by the rapid growth in the number of studies claiming that ROS act as universal information agents for almost all manifestations of cellular activity. But if ROS, unlike molecular bioregulators, do not have chemical specificity, how can they provide fine regulation of cellular functions?

While a significant portion of the body's oxygen consumption is used to produce ROS, current levels of free radicals and other ROS in cells and the intercellular environment are very low. Numerous both enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms, collectively referred to as “antioxidant defense,” quickly eliminate emerging ROS.

A free radical can be eliminated in the only way - by adding or subtracting one electron from it. The radical turns into a molecule (a particle with an even number of paired electrons), and the chain reaction ends. ROS are constantly generated in living systems during enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions, and antioxidants ensure a high rate of recombination of radicals and their transformation into stable molecules.

What is the point of generating radicals if they must be immediately eliminated, if not that the products of these reactions appear in an electronically excited state, equivalent to that which arises when they absorb a quantum of light. The results of our research and the data of other authors indicate that under the conditions of the molecular and supramolecular organization of the cytoplasm and extracellular matrix, this energy is far from completely dissipated into heat. It can accumulate in macromolecules, supramolecular assemblies, and be radiatively and nonradiatively redistributed between them. We believe that it is this feature of radical reactions that ensures the regulation and coordination of the cell’s executive mechanisms. The energy of recombination reactions, equivalent to light photons, can act both as a “starter” of metabolic processes and as their pacemaker.

The last statement is supported by the fact that many, if not all, biological processes occur in an oscillatory mode, and it turns out that not only the amplitude, but also the frequency of oscillations plays an important regulatory (informational) role. On the other hand, reactions involving ROS often occur in an oscillatory mode under conditions characteristic of the internal conditions of living systems. For example, during the reaction between widespread biomolecules - glucose and glycine (the simplest amino acid), occurring in water under relatively mild conditions, in the presence of oxygen, light emission is generated, which, moreover, flares up and then fades away.

We assume that the mechanisms of biological action of ROS are determined not so much by their average content in the body’s environment, but by the structure of the processes in which they participate. By the structure of the process we mean the frequency-amplitude characteristics of the reactions of ROS interaction with each other or with ordinary molecules. If these reactions supply activation energy for specific molecular processes in the cell, then they can determine the rhythms of biochemical and then physiological processes.

Oscillatory rhythms, both periodic and nonlinear, are self-generated in ROS exchange processes, but without regular external stimulation, ROS production sooner or later fades. The body must receive a “primer” in the form of ROS from the outside, for example, in the form of air ions (superoxide radical) or with water and food. ROS appear in the aquatic environment of the body upon absorption of photons of sufficiently high energies (UV and shorter wavelength ranges), which arise, in particular, during Cherenkov radiation, which accompanies the beta decay of radioactive isotopes 14C and 40K entering the body naturally.

External causes and factors that in one way or another generate electronically excited states in the internal environment of the body, figuratively speaking, “turn on the ignition”, allowing the damped own processes of generating such states to “flare up”.

However, ROS, of course, can also pose a serious danger in the event of disturbances in both their production and utilization through the recombination of radicals. Overproduction and disruption of ROS utilization leads to the development of chain reactions and damage to biomolecules, to the emergence of those pathologies that are well described in the literature as the consequences of “oxidative stress”. But as for the insufficient production of ROS, which is accompanied by disturbances in the regulation of a wide variety of physiological processes, until recently almost no attention was paid to this side of their metabolism.

At the same time, an “outbreak” of ROS production occurs already at the moment of fertilization of an egg by a sperm, i.e., during the act from which the development of a new life begins, and without such an outbreak, normal maturation of eggs does not occur. From the perspective of Bauer's theory, this outbreak significantly increases the biophysical potential of the fertilized egg. During further development, bursts of ROS synthesis, accompanied by the generation of electronically excited states, occur with each cell division. Each act of apoptosis is also accompanied by a burst of radiation, which is absorbed by surrounding cells, increasing their biophysical potential.

Thus, reactions involving reactive oxygen species occurring in the internal environment of the body are the most likely candidates for the role of processes that provide the significance of the biophysical potentials of the body as a whole, the potentials of its particular physiological systems, and individual cells. The volume of biophysical energy is determined, based on these ideas, by the mass of the molecular substrate in an electronically excited state and the degree of its excitation. If this is so, then in animals and in humans, in particular, the most “living” matter is nervous tissue, and the longer it is able to maintain this state, the longer the active life of the individual continues.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the duration of the active and full existence of a living system depends to a certain extent on both genetic factors and the conditions of its existence. But from the laws of theoretical biology, first formulated by E. Bauer, it follows that any living system, including humans, is a continuous active process of formation, and its results are determined mainly by the living system’s own activity and, secondarily, by external circumstances and even the genetic constitution of the organism. Although, in accordance with the principle of stable disequilibrium, any elementary development cycle of a living system has its limit, after which the aging stage begins, other principles of Bauer’s theory open up the possibility of significantly extending the life of an individual while maintaining his high vital activity.

Thanks to the existence of the “Basic Process”, each individual living system has the opportunity to repeatedly “rejuvenate” and re-enter the development phase, and the starting conditions for the new stage may be better than for the previous one. Each person at each stage of his development, as a rule, has at his disposal the means for its implementation. Another thing is that many do not know that they are provided with these funds and do not know how to use them.

True, it seems that we simply forgot about this, since many anciently known rules of a healthy lifestyle, methods of correcting deviations from normal development, allow us not only to extend the calendar life span, but also to ensure high performance and creative activity at any age. And if earlier humanity used these techniques only on the basis of empirical experience, then the development of gerontology based on the laws of theoretical biology will sooner or later make it possible to apply them on a scientific basis individually for each person if he really wants to live a full life.

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It is obvious that the problem of life extension is not only biological, medical, but also social. This is fully confirmed by numerous scientific observations, as well as the results of studies of centenarians in our country and abroad.

As Professor K. Platonov noted, “...a person as an individual and as an integral structure has two basic and interconnected substructures, necessary and sufficient to cover all his properties and individual characteristics: the substructure of the organism and the substructure of the personality.

It is a mistake to consider any human activity either only as biologically determined, or as only socially determined.” There is not a single social manifestation of a person’s life that is not inextricably linked with his biological properties. K. Platonov gives an example of human acceleration - his accelerated development in the present era. This is a biological manifestation of his body, but it is due to social influences affecting life expectancy, improving the health and physical condition of the population, its settlement in cities and villages, etc.

The greater a person’s culture, that is, the more the influence of social relations is felt in him, the more opportunities he has to influence his biology, his health.

The determining factor in longevity is psychological.

Longevity is not a phenomenon, but a consequence of human harmony with the natural environment of existence. The most important thing in this harmony is psychological comfort in communication and pleasure from life. The main character traits of a centenarian are calmness, cordiality, a mood full of optimism and plans for the future, good nature, and peacefulness.

They remain optimistic until old age. In addition, they know how to manage their emotions. One of the Abkhaz centenarians explained her longevity by the ability to be tolerant. Under no circumstances did she allow herself to become irritated or worry about minor troubles, and she tried to treat major ones philosophically. “If something bothers me, I don’t get completely upset right away. I start to worry “gradually”, stretching out my anxiety, so to speak, over a long period of time, while at the same time maintaining control over myself, calmness and a philosophical approach. Thus, I I protect myself from excessive suffering and stress. I learned this from my parents.” It should be noted that Abkhaz centenarians are proud of their restraint - minor quarrels and abuse are considered as unnecessary irritation and a waste of time.

American scientists have concluded that long-livers, as a rule, are satisfied with their jobs and really want to live. Most of them lead a calm, measured life. The centenarians examined by gerontologists were distinguished by their calm nature, balance, and lack of fussiness. Many of the centenarians led a hard working life, experienced serious hardships, but at the same time remained calm and steadfastly endured all adversities.

Long-livers develop a psychological defense against the awareness of the fact of aging and the inevitability of death, which is determined by character traits, low levels of anxiety, contact, and flexibility of mental reactions. In connection with these psychological characteristics of long-livers, one should recall the statement of Gufelaid, who wrote in 1653 that “among the influences that shorten life, fear, sadness, despondency, envy, and hatred occupy a predominant place.” Based on an analysis of the lifestyle of centenarians over a long period, scientists identify traditional ways to prolong life: psychological stability, healthy eating and the absence of any bad habits, choice of external habitat. Both scientists who study life extension in theory and centenarians themselves agree on one thing: the main guarantee of a long life is good spirits. It has long been proven that people who are optimistic live longer than pessimists. Maintaining sociability and not allowing your usual circle of interests to narrow over the years is the key to an optimistic outlook on life. And it, in turn, ensures mental health, which in old age is no less important than physical health.

In his travel notes about the Caucasus, Karl May clearly writes that every second person here is long-lived. He began to look for a solution and found it. It's amazingly simple. Caucasians live so long because they like it!

Attitudes towards centenarians in the past

Let's consider how it was customary to treat old people in different eras and in different countries.

In the Stone Age, the attitude towards the weak and old was cruel. Old people were expelled to the mountains and deserts. The life of one individual was of little value; the survival of an entire species was the main thing. For example, pastures and hunting grounds have become depleted and new ones must be found. People could not expect the natural death of old people who were unable to withstand the difficult road; when they moved, they left the old people in the old place. But time passed, and attitudes towards old people changed. In ancient Egypt, they found a papyrus on which a congratulation to the teacher was written:

You gave 110 years of your life to this country,

and your limbs are as healthy as the body of a gazelle.

You drove death from your doors,

and no disease has power over you,

above you, who will never be old.

The sacred book of ancient Christians - the Old Testament - obliges children to honor their parents and take care of them.

In China, they have always treated older people with respect, showing warmth and cordiality. If a parent died, the son wore mourning for three years and had no right to travel (and this despite the fact that the Chinese are passionate travelers). And today old people in China live surrounded by care and love.

In Africa they also respected and respect their ancestors. African philosophy views life as an eternal circle (birth, death, birth). Old age is a transitional state between life, death and rebirth. An elderly person is a storehouse of wisdom. No wonder they say in Mali: “When an old man dies, a whole library dies.”

Unfortunately, the attitude towards older people was not favorable everywhere. In Sparta, elderly and sick people were thrown into the abyss. In ancient Rome, an old man was dragged to a river to be thrown there. The sentenced old men had the inscription on their foreheads: “The one who must be thrown off the bridge.”

And yet, despite the cruelty legalized by the state, there were people who were not afraid to express a different opinion about the elderly. Sophocles insisted that older people should hold high positions because they were wise.

In today's world, older people also lack respect from young people. But is this only the fault of young people? Rudolf Steiner, when asked why our youth do not respect their elders, answered: “We do not know how to grow old. As we grow older, we do not become wiser. We simply degrade and fall apart mentally and physically. And only with some there is a breakthrough and they become wise.”

Social environment

Demand in family and society is what is necessary to maintain health and well-being in old age.

Many centenarians were married, and more than once; they got married in old age. Thus, the Frenchman Longueville lived until he was 110 years old, married 10 times, and the last time at ninety years old, his wife gave birth to a son when he was 101 years old. So, marriage prolongs life.

In Abkhazian culture, there are many forms of behavior developed over centuries that help overcome the effects of stress factors. Participation in the rituals of life's journey and in general in events that are significant for a person by a significant number of people - relatives, neighbors, acquaintances - is of great importance. Similar forms of behavior exist among other peoples of the Caucasus. But in Abkhazia, the scale of moral and material support, mutual assistance of relatives and neighbors in situations of vital changes - weddings or funerals - attracts attention.

The main conclusion drawn from this study was that residents of the Caucasus almost completely lack feelings of uncertainty and anxiety associated with the expectation of undesirable changes in the social status of an old, long-lived person as his age increases. Aging and possible negative physical changes associated with it do not lead to depressive mental states in centenarians, which, apparently, has a direct connection with the phenomenon of longevity.