General Theory of Mortality and Aging: A stochastic model relates observations on aging, physiologic decline, mortality, and radiation.

The emergence of chronic diseases out of increasingly unstable fluctuations of the organism state provides the necessary dynamic argument to support the derivation of the Gompertz mortality law in the Strehler-Mildvan theory of aging.

“The emergence of chronic diseases out of increasingly unstable fluctuations of the organism state provides the necessary dynamic argument to support the derivation of the Gompertz mortality law in the Strehler–Mildvan theory of aging58.”

Classical Strelher-Mildvan models posit linearly reducing vitality and death caused by exponentially distributed events.

“Classical Strelher–Mildvan models posit linearly reducing vitality and death caused by exponentially distributed events23,64.”

As reserve of individual organs declines linearly, the ability to maintain homeostasis in the face of a threat of a given magnitude declines exponentially.

“As the reserve of individual organs declines in a linear fashion, the ability to maintain homeostasis in the face of a threat of a given magnitude declines exponentially (Strehler 1960); hence, the observations of physiology and the actuarial observations of Gompertz are reconciled (Figure 2).”

Senescence is presently best understood by decline of maximal function of the vital organs.

“While the process of senescence certainly has biochemical and cellular underpinnings, it is presently best understood by decline of maximal function of the vital organs (Finch 1976;Shock 1960;Strehler 1960).”