Short description
Synthesizes research on the topic of human aging and longevity particularly on the theories of inflammation and its effects on human health. The book expands on 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.
Long description
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 per cent most cited scientists. It provides a novel synthesis of existing ideas about the biology of longevity and aging. It incorporates important research findings from several disciplines, including Gerontology, Genomics, Neuroscience, Immunology, Nutrition.
Review
This is a monumental book, which reviews and discusses over 3,000 scientific publications on mechanisms of aging and longevity, with special emphasis on the role of inflammation in senescence and age-related degenerative diseases. The author is an internationally recognized leader in the field of biogerontology, and his volume could serve as a useful reference book for a wide readership including biomedical scientists, biogerontologists and clinicians in areas of vascular disease, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, genetics of aging and longevity, animal models of aging, anthropology and primatology, evolutionary biology, demography and epidemiology. --Dr. Leonid Gavrilov, Center on Aging, University of Chicago, in Longevity Science Blog, September 21, 2007 (http://longevity-science.blogspot.com/)