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The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Advance Access published online on November 2, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, doi:10.1093/gerona/glp164
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Disuse and Aging, 2009

Walter Bortz

Stanford University School of Medicine, Bolivar Lane, Portola Valley, California

Address correspondence to Walter Bortz, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, 167 Bolivar Lane, Portola Valley, CA 94028. Email: drwbortz{at}aol.com


  Abstract

Background: Knowledge of the basic processes determinative of the life courses of older persons has progressed dramatically in the past few years. This article is an update of a similar survey performed 27 years ago.

Methods: A literature review of recent contributions gathered from a variety of disciplines seeks a more sturdy and consistent heuristic from which derivative work may proceed.

Results: Publications from basic and clinical sciences as well as related nonmedical fields reveal a new conceptual framework for the understanding of human aging, which suggests a broader framework of contributing agencies and their policy implications.

Conclusions: Aging is not a disease and therefore demands a different lens for analysis. This article provides a deeper focus and insists on the inclusion of a heightened sense of the participation of time. Incorporation of the imperatives applied by the Second Law of Thermodynamics is the foundation of the new definitions.

Keywords Disuse; Plasticity; Aging

Received: April 28, 2009; Accepted: September 23, 2009

Decision Editor: Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD


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