Physical resilience is a predictor of healthy aging

Abstract

Physical resilience is defined as the ability to respond to and recover from a physically stressful event. Response to stress can be heterogeneous across lifespan and between individuals of the same age. Documentation of resilience at a young age would provide insight into how individuals across lifespan would develop resilience to physical stress at an older age and help identify individuals determined to be less resilient. Protective factors could be developed that can be engaged to promote resilience and healthy aging and provide insight as to why some individuals maintain or regain function following an insult while others do not. Preclinical animal studies will provide valuable information as to the molecular pathways involved in individual heterogeneity and help identify therapeutic targets. The concept that resilience to aging is characterized by heterogeneous response patterns unique to specific physical stressors is an excellent translational platform for determining the optimal age, scope, and intensity of physical stressors to reliably discriminate resilience.