Different Parts of Our Body Age At Different Times

WE all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now

leading clinicians have revealed the exact age when

different body parts start to decline, most alarming

being the brain and lungs.

French doctors have found that the quality of men's'

sperm starts to deteriorate by 35, so that by the time a

man is 45 a third of pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Here, with the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein

tells the Daily Mail the ages when different parts of the

body start to lose their battle with time.

BRAIN - Starts aging at 20

As we get older, the number of nerve cells - or neurons -

in the brain decrease. We start with around 100 billion,

but in our 20s this number starts to decline. By 40, we

could be losing up to 10,000 per day, affecting memory,

co-ordination and brain function.

GUT - Starts aging at 55.

A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and

'friendly' bacteria. But levels of friendly bacteria in

the gut drop significantly after 55, particularly in the large

intestine, says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology

at Barts And The London medical school. As a result, we

suffer from poor digestion and an increased risk of

gut disease. Constipatio n is more likely as we age, as the

flow of digestive juices from the stomach, liver,

pancreas and small intestine slows down.

BREASTS - Start aging at 35

BY their mid-30s, woman's breasts start losing tissue

and fat, reducing size and fullness. Sagging starts

properly at 40 and the aureole

(the area surrounding the nipple) can shrink considerably.

BLADDER - Starts aging at 65

Loss of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65.

Women are more vulnerable to bladder problems as, after

the menopause, declining estrogen levels make tissues in

the urethra - the tube through which urine passes - thinner

and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder capacity in

an older adult generally is about half that of a younger person

- about two cups in a 30-year-old and one cup in a 70-year-old. ...

LUNGS - Start aging at 20

Lung capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20.

By the age of 40, some people are already experiencing

breathlessness. This is partly because the muscles and

the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up.

VOICE - Starts aging at 65

Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age.

The soft tissues in the voice box (larynx) weaken,

affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of the voice.

A woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch,

whereas a man's might become thinner and higher.

EYES - Start aging at 40

Glasses are the norm for many over-40s as failing

eyesight kicks in - usually long-sightedness, affecting our ability to see objects up close.

HEART - Starts aging at 40

The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body

as we get older. This is because blood vessels become

less elastic, while arteries can harden or become blocked

because of fatty deposits forming on the coronary arteries

- caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply

to the heart is then reduced, resulting in painful angina.

Men over 45 and women over 55 are at greater

risk of a heart attack.

LIVER - Starts aging at 70

This is the only organ in the body which seems to

defy the aging process.

KIDNEYS - Starts aging at 50

With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons)

that remove waste from the bloodstream starts to

reduce in middle age.

PROSTATE - Starts aging at 50

The prostate often becomes enlarged with age, leading to

problems such as increased need to urinate, says Professor

Roger Kirby, director of the Prostate Centre in London .

This is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia and affects

half of men over 50, but rarely those under 40. It

occurs when the prostate absorbs large amounts of the

male sex hormone testosterone, which increases the

growth of cells in the prostate. A normal prostate is the

size of a walnut, but the condition can increase this

to the size of a tangerine.

BONES - Start aging at 35

'Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells

called osteoclasts and replaced by bone-building cells

called osteoblasts - a process called bone turnover,'

explains Robert Moots, professor of rheumatology at

Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool . Children's bone

growth is rapid - the skeleton takes just two years

to renew

itself completely. In adults, this can take ten years.

Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing.

But at 35 bone loss begins as part of the

natural ageing process.

TEETH - Start aging at 40

As we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away

bacteria, so teeth and gums are more vulnerable to decay.

Receding gums - when tissue is lost from gums around

the teeth - is common in adults over 40.

MUSCLES - Start aging at 30

Muscle is constantly being built up and broken down,

a process which is well balanced in young adults.

However, by the time we're 30, breakdown is greater

than buildup, explains Professor Robert Moots. Once adults

reach 40, they start to lose between 0.5 and 2 per cent

of their muscle each year. Regular exercise can

help prevent this.

HEARING - Starts aging mid-50s

More than half of people over 60 lose hearing because

of their age, according to the Royal National

Institute for the Deaf.

SKIN - Starts aging mid-20s

The skin starts to age naturally in your mid-20s.

TASTE AND SMELL - Start aging at 60

We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered

on the tongue. This number can halve later in life. After we

turn 60, taste and smell gradually decline, partly as a result

of the normal ageing process.

FERTILITY - Starts aging at 35

Female fertility begins to decline after 35, as the number

and quality of eggs in the ovaries start to fall. The lining of

the womb may become thinner, making it less likely for a

fertilised egg to take, and also creating an

environment hostile to sperm.

HAIR - Starts aging at 30

Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s. Hair is made in tiny

pouches just under the skin's surface, known as follices.

A hair normally grows from each follicle for about three

years, is then shed, and a new hair grows. Most people

will have some grey hair by the age of 35. When we are

young, our hair is coloured by the pigments produced by

cells in the hair follicle known as melanocytes.