What is Cell Loss and Tissue Atrophy?

Cells are the basic building blocks of tissues. All cells suffer damage in the course of carrying out their function, and some of that damage is not repaired and accumulates with aging. Atrophy is the loss of cells or the reduction in the number of cells in our body. . Some cells become so damaged that they die; others are killed, or put into a “hibernation mode” called senescence, by programs put in place to prevent abnormal cells from turning into cancers.

How does the damage set in?

For most of our lives, our bodies are programmed to replace cells when they die. All our cells are constantly regenerated using the body's own mechanisms. However, over time, the processes of cell replenishment begin to break down due to the aging process. Also, some key tissues (parts of the brain, and the heart) were never designed to replace enough cells to keep up with such damage over a long lifetime.

Resultant Diseases

The loss of cells and tissue atrophy in key organs due to aging damage can lead to many age-related diseases, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, the high risk of falls and fractures amongst the elderly, and numerous others.

Solution

To fix this problem, two strategies have been proposed: stimulating the division of existing cells, or introducing new cells. Natural stimulation would be possible in some muscles by exercise but it has its limitations. Therefore, it will be preferable in most cases to introduce entirely new cells that are both free of any defects.