The Biology of Human Longevity: Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans

Book info: The Biology of Human Longevity: Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans (Hardcover, 640 pages) – Academic Press, 2007. Language: English.

Written by Caleb Finch, one of the leading scientists of our time, The Biology of Human Longevity: Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans synthesizes several decades of top research on the topic of human aging and longevity particularly on the recent theories of inflammation and its effects on human health. The book expands a number of existing major theories, including the Barker theory of fetal origins of adult disease to consider the role of inflammation and Harmon's free radical theory of aging to include inflammatory damage. Future increases in lifespan are challenged by the obesity epidemic and spreading global infections which may reverse the gains made in lowering inflammatory exposure. This timely and topical book will be of interest to anyone studying aging from any scientific angle.

• Author Caleb Finch is a highly influential and respected scientist, ranked in the top half of the 1% most cited scientists
• Provides a novel synthesis of existing ideas about the biology of longevity and aging
• Incorporates important research findings from several disciplines, including Gerontology, Genomics, Neuroscience, Immunology, Nutrition

From the Back Cover

Aging is a great scientific mystery. Longevity has increased remarkably in the last two hundred years, with doubling of the life expectancy from about 40 to more than 80 years. In the evolutionary past, the human species also evolved longer lifespans apparently doubling that of a great ape ancestor. These redoublings of longevity may be understood in terms of reduced levels of inflammation. There is a remarkable overlap of inflammatory processes in arterial disease, Alzheimer's, cancer, and diabetes. In animal models, these diseases are attenuated by drugs with anti-inflammatory effects or by diet restriction which is also anti-inflammatory. Moreover, the evolution of the human lifespan from great ape ancestors required adaptation to new levels of inflammation during the shift from herbivory to our preferred meat-rich diet. In short, inflammation-diet interactions might well explain the evolution of human longevity and indicate its future potential.

The book The Biology of Human Longevity - Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans synthesizes several decades of top research, and expands a number of existing major theories, including the Barker theory of fetal origins of adult disease to consider the role of inflammation and Harmon's free radical theory of aging to include inflammatory damage. Future increases in lifespan are challenged by the obesity epidemic and spreading global infections which may reverse the gains made in lowering inflammatory exposure.

Professor Caleb Finch is one of the leading scientists of our time. Ranked in the top half of the 1 % most cited scientists, Professor Finch is director of the Gerontology Research Institute and the Alzheimer Research Center at the University of Southern California. He has received most of the major awards in biomedical gerontology. This book will be a scientific publishing event on the same level as his "Longevity, Senescence, and the Genome", published in 1990.

• A new synthesis expanding on existing ideas about the biology of longevity and aging
• Incorporates important research findings from several disciplines, including Gerontology, Genomics, Neuroscience, Immunology, Nutrition
• A book of major importance from one of the great scientists of our time

About the Author Dr. Finch’s major research interest is the study of basic mechanisms in human aging with a focus on inflammation. He has received numerous awards in biomedical gerontology, including the Robert W. Kleemeier Award of the Gerontological Society of America in 1985, the Sandoz Premier Prize by the International Geriatric Association in 1995, and the Irving Wright Award of AFAR and the Research Award of AGE in 1999. He was the founder of the NIA-funded Alzheimer Disease Research Center in 1984 and currently serves as co- Director.

Dr. Finch became a University Distinguished Professor in 1989, an honor held by sixteen other professors at USC who contribute to multiple fields. He is a member of five editorial boards and has written four books including The Biology of Human Longevity (Academic Press 2007) as well as over 470 articles.