Premature Aging

In this chapter, we will discuss premature aging syndromes as timelapses of aging. Research made the biggest steps in elucidating biological processes via studying malfunctions of normal mechanisms that lead to different types of syndromes and diseases, such as premature aging syndromes and cancer. Besides the typical premature aging syndrome Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, which affects the whole body and has a marked clinical presentation, other so called segmental premature aging syndromes exhibit premature aging in a tissue-specific way. Moreover, we discuss that the primary hallmarks of aging “genomic instability” and “epigenetic alterations” as the main drivers of premature aging syndromes. However, the different clinical presentations of these diseases elucidate how the other hallmarks of aging intertwine in this process. In general, aging can be understood as the consequence of an imbalance between endogenous maintenance systems and the accumulation of both exogenous and endogenous hits. Therefore, studying premature aging syndromes can pave the way both for prevention strategies and treatment options also in the context of biological aging.