Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, Inc.

Autophagy, which involves the degradation of aged or damaged cellular components, has been shown to extend healthspan and lifespan in multiple organisms, including flies, worms, and mice. Research has also demonstrated that autophagy declines with age in these simpler experimental models. However, human studies are lacking. Our study seeks to determine whether fasting, a robust stimulus of autophagy, upregulates autophagy in humans, and whether autophagy is reduced in healthy older people compared to healthy younger individuals.