These age-associated deletions appear to be most pronounced in nerve and muscle and hold great promise for explaining the major diseases and disorders old age brings to these tissues. Our current efforts involve quantification of deletion abundance and correlation of deletions with changes in cellular morphology. My laboratory is using molecular methodologies to identify the etiologic agent. We have, in addition, recently developed an in vitro system for the identification of drugs having therapeutic benefit. Selected Publications Aspnes, L.E., C.M. Lee, R. Weindruch, S.S. Chung, E.B. Roecker, and J. M. Aiken.
Caloric restriction reduces fiber loss and mitochondrial abnormalities in aged rat muscle.
McKenzie, D., Bartz, J., Mirwald, J., Olander, D., Marsh, R.F. and Aiken, J.M. 1998. Reversibility of scrapie inactivation is enhanced by copper. M.E. Lopez, R. Weindruch and J.M. Aiken. Association of age-related mitochondrial abnormalities with skeletal muscle fiber atrophy. Free Radical Biology and Medicine.