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Researchers Draw New Connections Between Aging and Mitochondrial Health
研究人员在衰老和线粒体健康之间建立了新的联系
Thanks to public health measures and modern medicine, people are living longer than they ever have. By 2050, projections suggest the population over 65 years of age will double in size. For the most part, longer life is an enormous benefit to society, but it also means that an increasing percentage of the population is poised to experience the tell-tale symptoms of aging, such as weakening muscles, faltering memories and slowing metabolism.
由于公共卫生措施和现代医学，人们的寿命比以往任何时候都长。预测显示，到2050年，65岁以上的人口规模将翻一番。在很大程度上，寿命的延长对社会是一项巨大的利好，但这也意味着越来越多的人口将经历老龄化的明显症状，如肌肉衰弱、记忆力衰退和新陈代谢减慢。
Of the many ways to address individual aging, a compound called urolithin-A has sparked interest from a number of researchers. For more than a decade, scientists at the life science company Amazentis and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have been investigating the compound, and Amazentis now produces a supplement that contains it. Urolithin A is naturally produced by gut microbes in certain individuals when they metabolize a precursor compound found in pomegranates, berries and walnuts, and it has been associated with mitochondrial health.
在解决个体衰老的众多方法中，一种名为尿石素-A的化合物引起了许多研究人员的兴趣。十多年来，生命科学公司Amazentis和瑞士洛桑联邦理工学院的科学家们一直在研究这种化合物，现在Amazentis这家公司生产了一种含有这种化合物的补充剂。尿石素-A是某些人体内的肠道微生物代谢石榴、浆果和核桃中发现的一种前体化合物时自然产生的一种物质，它与线粒体健康有关。
In a 2016 study published in Nature Medicine, these researchers showed that urolithin A significantly extended the lifespan of worms, and modestly improved muscle strength and significantly increased endurance in mice. For the last five years they have focused on understanding the compound’s potential benefits for humans, with mitochondria and muscle health as the focus.
在2016年发表在《自然医学》上的一项研究中表明，尿石素-A显著延长了蠕虫的寿命，并适度改善了小鼠的肌肉力量，显著增加了小鼠的耐力。在过去的五年里，他们一直专注于了解这种化合物对人类的潜在益处，尤其是在线粒体和肌肉健康方面。
