The biology of human longevity : inflammation, nutrition, and aging in the evolution of lifespans / Caleb E. Finch.

Amsterdam ; London : Academic Press, [2007], ©2007.

xiii, 626 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 25 cm

1. INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATION IN AGING AND CHRONIC DISEASES. 1.1. Overview ; 1.2. Experimental models for aging ; 1.3. Outline of inflammation ; 1.4. Bystander damage and dependent variables in senescence ; 1.5 Arterial aging and atherosclerosis ; 1.6. Alzheimer disease and vascular-related dementias ; 1.7. Inflammation in obesity ; 1.8. Processes of normal aging in the absence of specific diseases ; 1.9. Summary -- 2. INFECTIONS, INFLAMMOGENS, AND DRUGS. 2.1. Introduction ; 2.2. Vascular disease ; 2.3. Infections from the central tube : Metchnikoff revisited ; 2.4. Aerosols and dietary inflammogens ; 2.5. Infections, inflammation, and life span ; 2.6. Are infections a cause of obesity? ; 2.7. Inflammation, dementia, and cognitive decline ; 2.8. Immunosenescence and stem cells ; 2.9. Cancer, infection, and inflammation ; 2.10. Pharmacopleiotropies in vascular disease, dementia, and cancer ; 2.11. Summary -- 3. ENERGY BALANCE, INFLAMMATION, AND AGING. 3.1. Introduction ; 3.2. Diet restriction and aging ; 3.3. Energy sensing in diet restriction and satiety ; 3.4. Exercise, cardiovascular health, and longevity ; 3.5. Diet, exercise, and neurodegeneration ; 3.6. Laboratory rodents as models for the 'couch potato' ; 3.7. Energy balance in the life history ; 3.8. Summary -- 4. NUTRITION AND INFECTION IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL INFLUENCES ON AGING. 4.1. Introduction ; 4.2. Synopsis of the fetal origins theory ; 4.3. The Barker studies of infections and vascular disease ; 4.4. Size, health, and longevity ; 4.5. Infection and undernutrition on birthweight and later disease ; 4.6. Infection and nutrition in postnatal development and later disease ; 4.7. Famine ; 4.8. Maternal physiology, fetal growth, and later chronic disease ; 4.9. Growth in adaptive responses to the environment ; 4.10. Genomics of fetal growth regulation ; 4.11. Summary -- 5. GENETICS. 5.1. Introduction ; 5.2. Sources of individual variations in aging and life span ; 5.3. Sex differences in longevity ; 5.4. Metabolism and host-defense in worm and fly ; 5.5. The worm ; 5.6. Fly ; 5.7. Mammals ; 5.8. Summary -- 6. THE HUMAN LIFE SPAN : PRESENT, PAST, AND FUTURE. 6.1. Introduction ; 6.2. From great ape to human ; 6.3. Four major shifts in human life history from genetic and cultural evolution ; 6.4. The instability of life spans ; 6.5. Summary of chapters 1-6 : mechanisms in aging and life history evolution.

Includes bibliographical references(p. 417-599) and indexes.