Research News

When it comes to aging well, there’s no one quick answer. Aging involves a complex and interconnected network of biological processes that evolve as our bodies get older. Research on aging spans everything from chronic conditions to the chemistry of how our cells produce energy. 

Experts across Cleveland Clinic are studying all aspects of the aging process and translating their research into practical care strategies. These efforts are critical to preventing chronic conditions like heart disease or stroke, and and to developing new prediction srategies that catch age-related conditions like Alzheimer’s disease early.  

In recognition of Healthy Aging Month, meet some of the experts who are investigating the science behind aging well. 

Metabolic age  

Getting older changes the ways our cells break down molecules for the energy. This in turn changes how our cells grow, repair themselves and respond to stress. There aren’t any hard and fast rules for when this happens, how quickly it progresses or even which cells are affected. For this reason, the metabolic age of any one of our organs can differ from our chronological age. The cells in different parts of our bodies can have more efficient or less efficient metabolisms than the cells in our peers’ bodies, which can cause us to develop age-related diseases much sooner or later than expected. 

Pulmonologist Russell Bowler, MD, PhD, researches the effects of metabolic age on our lungs. Dr. Bowler recently published his lab’s discovery that COPD is a disease of metabolic age, instead of chronological age. His team is currently looking into the application of anti-aging therapies in this disease. 

Brain health 

Genome Center director Feixiong Cheng, PhD, uses novel technologies to study aging and brain health from new angles. He published papers that tied previous herpesvirus infections to our brain’s weakening immune systems in old age, and papers exploring how our brains process RNA differently as we get older.  

Moving forward, researchers like Dr. Cheng and Tatiana Byzova, PhD, are studying “inflammaging,” the constant, low-grade inflammation that accumulates in our bodies and brains as we get older. Dr. Cheng recently received funding to determine whether and why individuals with “advanced inflammatory clocks” (higher levels of brain inflammation than their peers) might be at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Byzova received funding to study key processes that cause inflammation, and to develop compounds that could stop or reverse the damage. 

Frailty 

In the medical world, the term “frailty” extends far beyond being generally weak or fragile (though these traits are a result of being frail). It signifies a decline in our body’s ability to push itself beyond its baseline activities and respond to changes in our environment or physical stress. 

Frailty can be addressed to help our bodies regain those energy reserves if it’s caught early enough, but usually frailty goes unnoticed in older adults until someone gets hurt. Nurse researcher Lee Anne Siegmund, PhD, RN, leads research to enhance frailty care models, improving our nurses’ ability to recognize and respond to frailty at all stages of the aging process. 

Advanced imaging 

Xiaojuan Li, PhD, and Carl S. Winalski, MD, are director and clinical director, respectively, of Cleveland Clinic’s Program of Advanced Musculoskeletal Imaging. The group aims to improve orthopedic and rheumatologic healthcare through developing and implementing new technologies and techniques through interdisciplinary collaboration. In 2024, the Arthritis Foundation named Cleveland Clinic as the future home for its Osteoarthritis Imaging Center, designed to become the largest repository in the country for imaging data from post-traumatic osteoarthritis clinical trials and therapies.  

Diet and fasting 

Research into fasting and diet informs how we can influence chronic conditions and aging through what, and when, we eat. Christopher Hine, PhD, has investigated the effects of fasting in later life in preclinical models, showing certain strategies could improve cognitive, physical, muscular and skeletal heath.