Neuroscientist Ramón Cacabelos has pointed out that "epigenetics is changing the way we understand longevity, memory, and brain deterioration," areas in which not only genetic inheritance intervenes, since daily habits also condition the aging process.
"For decades it was assumed that brain aging was practically written in DNA," he indicated, recalling that during that period "if a person had a certain genetic load, little could be done to modify their destiny." "Today, that paradigm is changing thanks to epigenetics, a discipline that shows that the way we live influences how our genes are expressed," he noted.
In a new installment of 'El Mensajero de Asclepio', a scientific dissemination series, Cacabelos explains that epigenetics "is transforming the understanding of brain aging," as well as the way of understanding the influence of lifestyles on health throughout the years. "Genetics continues to be important, but it can no longer be understood as an unalterable destiny," he summarized.
"Today, we know that there is a permanent interaction between genes and the environment that conditions the way our body ages," he added, emphasizing that "the key lies in epigenetics, a set of biological mechanisms that regulate gene activity without modifying the DNA sequence."
Factors involved in aging
In this context, he stressed that "factors such as rest, diet, physical activity, stress or inflammation can influence this regulation and, with it, the way in which the body responds to the passage of time." "It is not about 'reprogramming' aging or promising miraculous formulas," he asserted, although he clarified that "current scientific evidence does allow us to affirm that certain habits are associated with epigenetic changes and with differences in the so-called biological age."
He added that "this change in perspective represents one of the greatest advances in aging research in recent decades." "In fact, epigenetic alterations are part of the so-called 'hallmarks of aging' -the great biological mechanisms of aging- recognized by the international scientific community," he explained.
To conclude, after remarking that "understanding the interaction between genetics and environment will allow us to move towards increasingly personalized Medicine, aimed not only at treating diseases, but also at preserving brain health for longer", he/she/it has stated that "genes still mark the starting point, but they no longer write the outcome on their own".