简介:Agingisamultifactorialprocesscharacterizedbydeteriorationsoffunctionalcapacityofvariousorgansandthewholebodyperformance.Exogenousmechanismforagingincludesonsetandprogressofvariousdegenerativediseases,whereasintrinsicmechanismisgovernedbycellulareventswhereincatabolicprocessesexceedthecapacityforrepairandrejuvenation.1Oxygenandnitrogencenteredreactivespecies(ROS)havebeenidentifiedtoplayakeyroleinboththeintrinsicandextrinsicdevelopmentofagingprocesses,termed"freeradicaltheoryofaging".2Duringthepasthalfofcenturymajorprogresseshavebeenmadeinboththeresearchofagingmechanismandclinicalpracticesinage-relateddiseasetreatmentandelderlycare,resultingasteadyimprovementoflongevityandanimpressiveexpansionoftheelderlypopulationamongindustrializedcountryandsomedevelopingcountries.Thistrendwilllikelygrowinthecurrentcentury.