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Gompertz law and aging as exclusion effects

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Abstract

The exponential increase with age in mortality rate, the Gompertz law, indicates that the decrease in vitality and viability linked to aging depends on phenomena with exponential or logarithmic dynamics. Gompertz slope (α) is assumed to be a measure of aging rate, provided the studied cohort is homogeneous and in a supporting environment. The law provides no clue about the cause of aging, but may be formally correlated with various physical or mathematical functions. A possible correlation between the Ogston–Laurent exclusion equation and human aging is examined. An increase with age of an inert cross-linked insoluble protein network is assumed to result in a logarithmic decrease in water volume available to colloidal macromolecules. In this model, α is assumed to be a measure of the rate of accumulation of the polypeptide network.

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  1. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Uppsala, Biomedical Center, P.O. Box 582, 751 23, Uppsala, Sweden

    Anund Hallén

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  1. Anund Hallén
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Correspondence to Anund Hallén.

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Hallén, A. Gompertz law and aging as exclusion effects. Biogerontology 8, 605–612 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-007-9087-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-007-9087-5

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