title: Physical performance and longevity in aged rats.
abstract: In humans, physical performance declines with increasing age, and in nondisabled older persons, scores on standardized performance measures, such as walking speed, repeated chair stands, and a balance test, predict the incidence of disability and reduced longevity. Here we show in aged rats (24-month-old Brown Norway x Fischer 344 male rats; n = 48) that conceptually similar performance measures, such as swimming speed and an inclined plane procedure, can be assessed longitudinally, and that over 6 months of follow-up from the age of 24 to 30 months, performance declines progressively with increasing age. High baseline performance scores predict long-term longevity, a relationship that is also found in humans. The application of standardized physical performance measures to a variety of animal models of aging may help to define similarities between species in the underlying mechanisms of the age-related decline in performance, disability, and longevity.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Gerontology and Geriatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA. chrcarte@wfubmc.edu
authors: Christy S
authors: CS
authors: Carter
authors: William E
authors: WE
authors: Sonntag
authors: Graziano
authors: G
authors: Onder
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Pahor
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D016019:Survival Analysis