Could Slowing Biological Aging Help Prevent Disease?

Good Morning.

Medicine is very good at naming diseases.

Heart disease. Diabetes. Alzheimer’s. Cancer.

Each has its own specialists, treatments and research programs. But they also have something important in common: the risk of developing them rises sharply as we get older.

That observation is helping drive a growing field of research called geroscience.

Its premise is straightforward. Instead of looking only at the diseases that become more common later in life, researchers are studying the biological changes that occur as we age and asking whether some of them contribute to several diseases at once.

That could eventually change when medicine intervenes.

Imagine someone who is 55 and appears healthy. There may be no disease to diagnose. But inside the body, changes associated with aging have already been taking place for years.

If scientists could reliably measure those changes, the opportunity might be to act before they contribute to disease.

Researchers are now studying ways of doing exactly that. Some are examining molecular signals associated with biological aging. Others are investigating whether existing or experimental drugs can influence pathways involved in aging and, eventually, delay several age-related conditions rather than treating them one at a time. The National Institute on Aging is actively exploring how drugs targeting underlying aging biology might be developed and tested.

But there's a significant problem.

How would we know whether such a treatment worked?

Waiting to see whether someone lives longer could take decades. Researchers therefore need measurements that can reveal meaningful changes much sooner. Epigenetic clocks and other biological-age measures are among the possibilities being studied, but scientists are still determining how well these tools reflect improvements that ultimately matter to human health.

That's one reason the field remains far ahead of what medicine can currently promise.

Animal studies have shown that aspects of aging biology can be altered and, in some cases, healthy lifespan extended. Translating those findings into treatments proven to delay multiple diseases in people is a much larger challenge. NIH researchers continue to describe that translation as an important goal rather than an established medical capability.

Still, the question geroscience is asking represents an intriguing change in perspective.

For much of medicine, disease is the event that tells us when something needs to be treated.

The future of longevity medicine may begin earlier.

Scientists are trying to understand what happens before the disease has a name.

Source: CNN

Longevity

The Long Game
One small thing for a longer life

Try This

Every half hour today, stand up and move for a couple of minutes.

Set a timer if it helps. In a study of nearly 8,000 adults, researchers found that people who spent longer periods sitting without interruption had a higher risk of early death, even after accounting for their total sitting time. The findings suggest that how often we interrupt sitting may matter alongside how much time we spend seated.

Movement is one of the six factors that shape how well we age. The Worthyest Longevity Index explores all six in just four minutes.

Yours, personalized. Get my score →

Source: Diaz et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2017.

The Curiosity Edit

Today’s Insight: Medical Research & Innovation

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Modern Living:

Everyday Science

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Health & Wellness

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The Conscious Plate:

Food, Nutrition & Elevated Living

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Final Note

This is what we leave you with. A thought to end the day, carry in your pocket, or come back to later. Nothing big. Just something to reflect on.

The Things Nobody Asks Us to Do

The strongest communities are full of people doing small things nobody asked them to do.
A community becomes stronger when people take an interest in what needs doing, even when it isn't their responsibility. They notice where they can help and contribute without expecting recognition. Over time, those small acts create something valuable: a place where people know they can count on one another.

Pass It On

Sometimes a thought, an idea, or a perspective connects at just the right time. If something here feels like it might resonate with someone you know, share it with them.