Hidden infections may shorten our lifespans

Could mild and even undetected infections reduce our lifespan? New research published in the journal Science is suggesting the possibility that mild illnesses throughout ones life, even those that may not produce any symptoms whatsoever, could speed up the aging process in the long run.

Scientists at Lund University in Sweden looked at malaria-infected migratory birds and found that their illnesses shortened their telomeres—the caps at the ends of their chromosomes that protect their DNA from damage.

Telomere lengths decrease naturally as we age and when they shorten to a certain length, the cells will no longer be able to divide and aging and disease follow. So the longer the the telomeres can keep their lengths intact the greater the chance of living longer.

However it seems, in at least the great reed warblers, mildly-infected individuals had their telomeres shorten much faster than healthy individuals. Even those infected birds that appeared to function normally in their daily lives, just like their healthy counterparts, had shortened lifespans.

Now the big question of course is how does this finding relate to humans?

“If this is a general mechanism for any type of mild, chronic infection, which is quite possible, it will mean our study is of major interest to understand the impact that mild illnesses can have on other organisms, including humans,” said biologist Dennis Hasselquist from Lund University, one of the researchers behind the study published in the journal Science last week.

Up until now the research community has generally believed mild infections that don’t produce symptoms of illness have no effect on survival.

“Our results show instead that these types of small effects that appear harmless effects could accumulate and speed up the body’s aging process, leading to the earlier death of the individual. This is a new, surprising discovery”, said co-author Staffan Bensch, biologist at Lund University in a press statement.

Interest in telomeres, and their connection to the aging process and diseases, is gaining in momentum.

Just last week another group of researchers announced they have come up with a way to turn back our biological clocks by actually lengthening our telomeres a thousand fold.

This new Stanford University discovery allows our cells to keep dividing as we age in number of calendar years while our cells stay young. Hopes are that one day this new procedure may work on treating age-related disorders, and if possible, use it on different types of cells, including muscle cells, targeting muscular dystrophy and heart disease.

And there is a potential business side too. It turns out many folks out there would like to get a clue at least to how our cells are holding up against the ravages of time. Fledgling companies founded by leading scientists in the field of genetics are now part of the growing personalized genomics industry, and are working on developing a telomere-length test for the general public.

Some do legitimately question the true weight we can attribute to this science, especially since it is widely accepted that diet, sleep, fitness and stress can all influence our health too.

But even so, while telomere measuring is still in the testing phase, it is amazing to think that soon it may be possible with a simple blood test, to get at least a hint to just how long we may have on life’s stage.

Would you be interested in getting a test for your mortality?