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A midlife crisis for the mitochondrial free radical theory of aging

Overview of attention for article published in Longevity & Healthspan, April 2014
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (90th percentile)

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blogs
1 blog
twitter
6 X users
facebook
1 Facebook page

Citations

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66 Dimensions

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107 Mendeley
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Title
A midlife crisis for the mitochondrial free radical theory of aging
Published in
Longevity & Healthspan, April 2014
DOI 10.1186/2046-2395-3-4
Pubmed ID
Authors

Jeffrey A Stuart, Lucas A Maddalena, Max Merilovich, Ellen L Robb

Abstract

Since its inception more than four decades ago, the Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging (MFRTA) has served as a touchstone for research into the biology of aging. The MFRTA suggests that oxidative damage to cellular macromolecules caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) originating from mitochondria accumulates in cells over an animal's lifespan and eventually leads to the dysfunction and failure that characterizes aging. A central prediction of the theory is that the ability to ameliorate or slow this process should be associated with a slowed rate of aging and thus increased lifespan. A vast pool of data bearing on this idea has now been published. ROS production, ROS neutralization and macromolecule repair have all been extensively studied in the context of longevity. We review experimental evidence from comparisons between naturally long- or short-lived animal species, from calorie restricted animals, and from genetically modified animals and weigh the strength of results supporting the MFRTA. Viewed as a whole, the data accumulated from these studies have too often failed to support the theory. Excellent, well controlled studies from the past decade in particular have isolated ROS as an experimental variable and have shown no relationship between its production or neutralization and aging or longevity. Instead, a role for mitochondrial ROS as intracellular messengers involved in the regulation of some basic cellular processes, such as proliferation, differentiation and death, has emerged. If mitochondrial ROS are involved in the aging process, it seems very likely it will be via highly specific and regulated cellular processes and not through indiscriminate oxidative damage to macromolecules.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 6 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 107 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 2 2%
Portugal 1 <1%
Brazil 1 <1%
Switzerland 1 <1%
United Kingdom 1 <1%
Czechia 1 <1%
Unknown 100 93%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 27 25%
Student > Ph. D. Student 25 23%
Student > Bachelor 14 13%
Student > Master 12 11%
Professor 5 5%
Other 15 14%
Unknown 9 8%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 39 36%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 29 27%
Medicine and Dentistry 17 16%
Immunology and Microbiology 2 2%
Neuroscience 2 2%
Other 9 8%
Unknown 9 8%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 15. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 September 2016.
All research outputs
#2,025,362
of 22,753,345 outputs
Outputs from Longevity & Healthspan
#9
of 26 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#21,878
of 226,111 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Longevity & Healthspan
#1
of 4 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,753,345 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 91st percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 26 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 18.0. This one scored the same or higher as 17 of them.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 226,111 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 4 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them