Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Methods to Study Changes in Inherent Protein Aggregation with Age in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 26, 2017
Role of protein oxidation in aging and in age-associated neurodegenerative diseases
1Department of Pharmacology, University of Kentucky Medical School, Lexington 40536.
Abstract:
Aging and age-associated neurodegenerative diseases have been proposed to be the result of changes in a in anti-oxidant status and in the production of reactive oxygen species. Studies in humans have demonstrated a significant increase in oxidized protein from brains of neurological normals and from individuals with different neurological diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's Disease). Preclinical models of these conditions and of cerebral ischemia demonstrate the primary role of protein oxidation in the initial steps of these neurodegenerative diseases. Aging is a risk factor in the development of these diseases and is also associated with a decrease in the anti-oxidant defense systems of the brain. It is proposed that free radicals play a primary role in the initiation of those biochemical events that ultimately lead to the death of the neuron.
Related Concept Videos
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Mitochondria
The Effect of Aging on Tissues
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology

