Oxidative Stress and Aging

Oxidative stress is increasingly accepted as a likely cause of age-related diseases and mortality. The main lines of evidence supporting this hypothesis are that (1) oxidative stress increases with age, (2) sensitivity to oxidative stress increases with age, (3) many age-related diseases are clearly caused by oxidative stress, and (4) many manipulations that increase the life span reduce oxidative stress. The effects of oxidative stress on cellular function almost certainly involve the mitochondria, but the precise mechanisms remain to be elucidated. © 2007