Telomeres and Youth

As a way to pre-text the following story, we finished up our rockin' little 'hour of power' spin session yesterday with my quip that upon awakening the next day I would be a day younger instead of its universally accepted opposite.* This magic as the result of consistent, high intensity indoor cycling intervals four times a week for ten years (plus eating good, resting and recovering properly and smelling the occasional rose). That was the start.

The second act opens as my wonderful neighbor of over a quarter of a century, Frankie, sends this NY Times Magazine article over to the cabin. Frankie, as many of the VBA know, is in a very determined, spirited debate with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. So far, he seems to have the upper hand, despite the loss of mane and appetite. At 83, he remains sharp as a tack, constantly at the ready to smile, laugh or comment on the many ironies (or absurdities) of life in the 21st century. Many times he has commented on my fitness regimen, asking "You ran HOW MANY TIMES around the park?", or, "You know they have trains that will take you to Portland now a little faster than your bike". When I completed my first Ironman in 1993, he just shook his head.

The closing scene finds me with a mirthy grin, as the 'zine shows up on my kitchen table (Frankie has carte blanche to come and go as he pleases), carrying the following comment on the upper right page:

Kevin- See? You've been right all along.

There are plenty of reasons to exercise -- in this column, I've pointed out more than a few -- but the effect that regular activity may have on cellular aging could turn out to be the most profound. ''It's pretty exciting stuff,'' says Thomas LaRocca, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, who has just completed a new study echoing Werner's findings. In LaRocca's work, 57 people were tested both for their V02max -- or maximum aerobic capacity, a widely accepted measure of physical fitness -- and their white blood cells' telomere length. In subjects 55 to 72, a higher V02max correlated closely with longer telomeres. The fitter a person was in middle age or onward, the younger their cells.

1.Telomeres: Longer telomeres -- the protective tips of a DNA strand -- indicate youthful, healthy cells.; 2.RUNNING: The telomeres of physically active older subjects are longer than those of their sedentary peers.

Pix:
Top: Structure of parallel quadruplexes formed by human telomeric DNA. Gotcha!
Bot: Lengthening telomeres in the saddle with Scott, Keri, et al at the Optimal Performance Center in Westlake Village, CA.

*This might also help to explain why I have been called naive and guilty of unabashedly preaching the zen of health and fitness (among other things) in the past. I plead nolo contendere for the record.