Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1 AGING: A BIOLOGICAL PUZZLE -- THE PUZZLE -- MORTALITY RISK -- ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES -- AGE-ASSOCIATED DISEASES -- CONCEPT OF BIOLOGICAL AGE -- GENETICS -- UNIVERSALITY -- 2 DEMOGRAPHY AND THE SOCIETAL CHALLENGE -- POPULATION MORTALITY DATA -- Life Tables -- Survival Curves -- Age-Specific Mortality and Population Aging -- FACTORS DETERMINING POPULATION AGE STRUCTURE -- Changes in Life Expectancy -- Changes in Birth Rate -- Changes in Gender Composition -- SOCIETAL IMPACT OF CHANGING AGE STRUCTURE -- Work Force -- Disease -- Daily Living Assistance -- NEED FOR BIOMEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS -- 3 WHY AGING OCCURS -- EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY -- HISTORY OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES OF AGING -- CURRENT EVOLUTIONARY THEORY OF AGING -- GENETIC MECHANISMS IN THE EVOLUTION OF AGING -- EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE EVOLUTIONARY THEORY -- 4 HOW AGING OCCURS -- OVERVIEW -- THEORIES, HYPOTHESES, AND CONCEPTS -- Evolutionarily Adaptive Aging Clocks -- Wear and Tear -- Genes and Gene Expression -- Regulation of Systemic Function -- CONCLUSIONS -- 5 BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF AGING: A UNIFYING CONCEPT -- EVOLUTIONARY THEORY AS A GUIDE -- THE DISPOSABLE SOMA THEORY OF AGING -- "PRIVATE" AND "PUBLIC" PROXIMATE MECHANISMS OF AGING -- UNIFYING CONCEPT -- 6 THE HUMAN AGING PHENOTYPE -- BODY STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION -- Height -- Weight -- Cellularity -- Extracellular Matrix -- SKIN -- Intrinsic Aging -- Extrinsic Aging -- Age Changes in Skin Physiology -- Skin Cancer -- Pressure Sores -- MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM -- Skeletal Muscle -- Neuromuscular Function -- Bone -- Joints -- NERVOUS SYSTEM -- General Nervous System Age Changes -- Sensory Functions -- Motor Functions -- Autonomic Nervous System -- Sleep -- Cognitive Functions -- CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM -- Heart -- Arteries -- Microvasculature -- Venous System -- RESPIRATORY SYSTEM.

Lung-Thorax Pump -- Gas Transport Between Alveoli and the Tissues -- RENAL AND URINARY SYSTEM -- Renal Blood Flow -- Glomerular Filtration -- Tubular Functions -- Regulatory Functions -- Urination -- GASTROINTESTINAL SYSTEM -- Motor Activity -- Secretion -- Digestion -- Absorption -- ENDOCRINE AND METABOLIC FUNCTION -- Energy Metabolism -- Carbohydrate and Fat Metabolism -- Protein Metabolism -- Stress -- DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) and Melatonin -- FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM -- Fertility -- Menopause -- MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM -- Age Changes in the Testes -- Age Changes in the Secondary Sex Organs -- IMMUNE SYSTEM -- Age Changes in the Lymphoid Tissues -- Age Changes in Lymphocytes -- Disease and the Aging Immune System -- THERMOREGULATION -- 7 POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS TO RETARD AGING -- DIETARY RESTRICTION IN RODENTS -- PROPOSED PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS -- Antioxidants -- Deprenyl -- Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) -- Melatonin -- Growth Hormone -- Estrogen -- Testosterone -- LIFESTYLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS -- Exercise -- Diet -- Smoking -- Education and Social Support -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.