Michael, O. Thorner

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Michael O Thorner

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Frontiers in Endocrinology

Endocrinology of aging; the convergence of reductionist science with systems biology and integrative medicine

O. Thorner Michael

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Endocrinology of Aging: The Convergence of Reductionist Science with Systems Biology and Integrative Medicine

www.frontiersin.org October 2010 | Volume 1 | Article 2 | 1
Specialty Grand challenGe article
published: 14 October 2010
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2010.00002
Endocrinology of aging: the convergence of reductionist 
science with systems biology and integrative medicine
Michael O. Thorner*
David C. Harrison Medical Teaching Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, 
Charlottesville, VA, USA
*Correspondence: mot@virginia.edu
The Endocrinology of Aging is an expand-
ing field. It encompasses the impact of aging 
on the complex network of endocrine con-
trol of the body. The field is on the verge of 
a fundamental understanding of the factors 
which appear to either slow or accelerate 
the process.
Aging is an inevitable process which ulti-
mately leads to a slowing of the bodily proc-
esses, less immune surveillance and reduced 
immunity to disease, reduction in muscle 
and bone mass which results in frailty 
which is paralleled with reduced memory 
and intellectual function. Aging was for a 
long tome considered to be just an obvious 
consequence of accumulated wear-and-tear, 
a passive decline in function caused by a 
build up of tissue damage that occurred 
with passing time. This view has dramati-
cally changed due to recent evidence that 
has established that aging is a regulated 
process. Genetic studies have clearly indi-
cated that hormonal pathways are central 
to this regulation of aging and that aging 
is modifiable to a surprising extent. This 
has brought endocrinology to the fore in 
aging research.
A dramatic endocrine change of aging 
is the development of the menopause 
which occurs quite suddenly and produces 
marked symptoms and is associated with 
major changes in the body which the peri-
menopausal woman is only too aware of. 
While menopause is due to the loss of ovar-
ian follicles which can be stimulated it is 
associated with reduced levels of estradiol 
and progesterone and increased levels of the 
gonadotropins and presumably gondotro-
pin releasing hormone. Clearly the impact 
on the individual is great and probably 
every system in the body is affected. Is this 
just due to the reduced levels of gonadal 
steroids or is this due to secondary changes 
resulting from the decreased gonadal ster-
oid levels? The large controversy regarding 
hormone replacement therapy makes clear 
that there is no consensus as to whether it 
is advantageous or deleterious to replace 
gonadal steroids at this stage of life. There 
is little controversy about replacing them in 
premenopausal women who undergo surgi-
cal oophorectomy.
Aging is a progressive process which 
begins when function is maximal and 
then declines from that point. Thus for the 
hypothalamic/pituitary/growth hormone 
axis aging appears to start when growth 
hormone secretion is at its peak, i.e., at mid 
puberty. From that point on, the secretion 
of growth hormone declines. However a 
number of known factors can influence the 
degree of the decline – the decline appears 
to be slowed by remaining lean and being 
physically active with regular exercise. A 
major question is whether all the changes 
of aging are due to changes in hormonal 
state or whether tissues age and thus lose 
their ability to respond to hormones. My 
own bias is that there is great plasticity in 
the system and by having a fundamental 
understanding of the regulatory processes 
it will be possible to maintain a youthful 
hormonal state by life style, nutritional and 
pharmacological interventions and that this 
in turn will slow the aging process to extend 
healthspan rather than lifespan.
Frontiers in Endocrinology of Aging will 
be the journal which will bring together new 
knowledge including that generated in mul-
tiple models ranging from zebra fish to man, 
from molecular biology to systems biology 
and will include not only traditional bio-
logical sciences but will also involve the use 
of biomathematical modeling and in silico 
science. My own interest in the growth hor-
mone axis prompts me to point out that 
the growth hormone regulation involves 
an important interplay of growth hor-
mone with metabolism. Metabolism is 
exquisitely regulated and this involves not 
only traditional hormonal systems, but an 
interaction of neural inputs, autonomic 
nervous system inputs, circadian rhythms 
and ultradian rhythms as well as autocrine 
and paracrine influences. Aging has impact 
on all these systems.
Our challenge will be integrate reduc-
tionist science with systems biology. It is 
my hope that this journal will broaden 
the field and be all inclusive and bring the 
field to its rightful place. Aging is an ever 
more important area as the baby boomers 
now are entering into the later part of their 
seventh decade of life – many members of 
this group wish to maintain their health 
and vitality for as long as possible and also 
to maintain their independence. I believe 
the field of the endocrinology of aging is 
well placed to offer new approaches and 
advances to address these challenges and 
that Frontiers in Endocrinology of Aging 
will play an important part in disseminating 
new knowledge in this field to advance both 
science and medicine.
Received: 16 September 2010; accepted: 16 September 2010; 
published online: 14 October 2010.
Citation: Thorner MO (2010) Endocrinology of aging: the 
convergence of reductionist science with systems biology and 
integrative medicine. Front. Endocrin. 1:2. doi: 10.3389/
fendo.2010.00002
This article was submitted to Frontiers in Endocrinology of 
Aging, a specialty of Frontiers in Endocrinology.
Copyright © 2010 Thorner. This is an open-access arti-
cle subject to an exclusive license agreement between the 
authors and the Frontiers Research Foundation, which 
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction 
in any medium, provided the original authors and source 
are credited.


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Endocrinology of Aging: The Convergence of Reductionist Science with Systems Biology and Integrative Medicine

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