THE ROLE OF NO IN THE AGING PROCESS

Aging process: There is a large body of experimental and clinical data demonstrating that endothelial dysfunction is encountered not only in disease states such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart failure o r diabetes, but also in the normal physiological process of aging. Cur rently available data show that endothelium-dependent function decline s with age. nle fact that this same decline is observed in patients wi th hypertension suggests that age is an independent factor capable of provoking changes in the vascular endothelium. Causal mechanisms: It i s often suggested that altered NO synthesis from L-arginine and/or inc reased production of contraction factors play a role in the aggravatio n of endothelial and parietal lesions and would thus affect the natura l history of the disease process. Human studies: Ongoing studies in ma n tend to confirm experimental data obtained in animal models; treatme nt protocols could be adapted using compounds aimed at restoring norma l endothelial function. (C) 1998, Masson, Paris.