 
 nfection,
disease and aging are inextricably linked in the human
health chain, according to John Novak, associate director
of the Center for Oral Health Research at UK. He says
infection and disease can affect the aging process, and
the reverse is also true. "If you get a lot of infections,
your body is constantly being stressed, and that may have
an impact on aging. Conversely, the aging process itself
may affect your susceptibility to disease," he says.
Backed by a
$1.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging
(NIA), and in collaboration with researchers at the
University of Maryland and the NIA, Novak is examining the
role of infection and oral health in the aging process. In
this work he and his colleagues are using Rhesus monkeys
located at the NIA facility in Maryland.
"We're using
the oral cavity as a model to allow us to study infection,
inflammation and disease by looking at aging primates on a
lifetime calorie-restricted diet. Calorie restriction has
been clearly demonstrated to decrease the aging process in
rodents, and now these studies are being extended to
non-human primates before progressing to human studies,"
says Novak.
The first
thing he is looking for is whether these animals have
fewer infections and less disease than animals that don't
have such calorie restrictions. Then the researchers are
going to analyze how these animals respond to infection
that leads to inflammation in the mouth and consequent
periodontal disease. "Will those calorie-restricted
animals, who are not aging as rapidly, respond better than
those aging at a normal pace, and how does aging affect
the inflammatory response and the disease process?"
Jeffrey
Ebersole, director of UK's Center for Oral Health
Research, and Karen Novak, John's wife and an associate
professor of periodontics, are collaborating on this
study.
"People
continue to look for aging mechanisms and try to find a
magic bullet to prolong life," John Novak says, "but very
few people have looked at chronic infection and
inflammation as a package contributing to the aging
process. We know that as people age, they are susceptible
to more infections and certainly the infections and
inflammation can put a stress on your body that may lead
to premature aging.
"We are
excited because we think we will have some major findings
to contribute. With collaborative research, you broaden
the impact by bringing together a wider range of
expertise, and fresh ideas and perspectives."
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