Aging Theory Comparison Summary

The generic wear and tear or accumulated damage theories attempt only to explain human aging and have difficulty explaining the wide differences in life span observed between similar species.

The major non-programmed theories (mutation accumulation, antagonistic pleiotropy, disposable soma) attempt only to explain a single observation: the variation in life span between gradually aging mammals.

Programmed (adaptive) aging theories suggest the existence of a complex life span regulation system and provide explanations for a wide variety of observations as shown below.

See discussion in Biological Aging Theories.

Observation

Generic

Damage

and

Wear

Theories

Non-

Programmed

Mammal

Theories

Programmed

Complex

Aging

Mechanism

Theories

Human Aging

X

X

X

Life span variation in gradually aging mammals

X

X

Biological suicide - semelparous species

X

Caloric Restriction Effect

X

Stress Effect

X

Progeria/ Werner Syndrome

X

Aging Genes
X

Hormone (signal) Involvement X

Detection of external conditions X

Observation	Generic Damage and Wear Theories	Non- Programmed Mammal Theories	Programmed Complex Aging Mechanism Theories
Human Aging	X	X	X
Life span variation in gradually aging mammals		X	X
Biological suicide - semelparous species			X
Caloric Restriction Effect			X
Stress Effect			X
Progeria/ Werner Syndrome			X
Aging Genes			X
Hormone (signal) Involvement			X
Detection of external conditions			X