Research
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Mitochondrial dysfunction, driven by the accumulation of somatic mtDNA mutations and altered dynamics (fission/fusion imbalance), is a primary hallmark and causal driver of aging and age-related pathologies, rather than merely a consequence.
Focus on interventions that stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis and quality control, such as exercise (which induces mitohormesis) and metabolic stressors. The goal is to maintain the balance between creating new mitochondria (biogenesis) and removing damaged ones (mitophagy) to prevent the accumulation of dysfunction that drives aging.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Among diverse factors that contribute to human aging, the mitochondrial dysfunction has emerged as one of the key hallmarks of aging process and is linked to the development of numerous age-related pathologies... The strongest evidence to date that favors a causative role of mtDNA mutations in aging comes from the study of mtDNA mutator mice... exhibit significant accumulation of mtDNA mutations as well as premature or accelerated aging phenotype
Why this rating
The paper is a review citing strong genetic evidence (mutator mice) but acknowledges controversy in human observational data.
Source
The Mitochondrial Basis of Aging and Age-Related Disorders
Sarika Srivastava · Genes · 2017
DOI 10.3390/genes8120398
narrative_reviewCited 412×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are not the primary cause of aging; instead, they are a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction, and moderate ROS increases can extend lifespan via mitohormesis.Good
- Maintaining mitochondrial dynamics (balance of fission and fusion) and quality control (mitophagy/biogenesis) is critical for preventing age-related metabolic diseases and neurodegeneration.Good
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