Damage that cannot be repaired during youth can lead to epigenetic changes, altering gene expression and cell function.

“The accumulation of this damage is that we do not repair, we simply cannot repair during our youth, will eventually either damage the DNA inside of our cells and that will change the function of certain genes, maybe possibly repair genes or genes that help us deal with this damage. They may change the function of the cell itself so the cell might become more stiff, and that changes the way the cell is functioning, or they may change the way proteins are the function of proteins because now proteins become aggregated and all sorts of changes happen. But in addition to that, it also may lead to epigenetic changes, which also can change the expression and function of genes.”