Somatic mutations and aging: cause or effect?

Aging is a universal, lifelong and inevitable phenomenon, the product of an interaction between genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. The biological changes that occur during the aging process affect virtually all components of living systems, from the molecular up to that of the whole organism. These changes lead to a breakdown in the normal homoeostatic mechanisms, and so the functional capacity of the body and its ability to respond to a wide variety of extrinsic and intrinsic agents are often decreased. The result of this is the degradation of structural elements within the cells, tissues and organs of the body, leading eventually to the onset of age-related pathologies and ultimately death. The purpose of this paper is to present the evidence that implicates somatic mutations in the aetiology of the aging process.